The Coaldale-Lansford-Summit Hill Sewer Authority is banking on a federal monetary grant, plus a large monetary contribution from the three member municipalities, to appease demands from the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection on improving the central sewerage system.

The authority is seeking $350,000 from the boroughs of Coaldale, Lansford and Summit Hill. The amount is expected to qualify for a matching grant so work can begin on finding sources of stormwater infiltration.

The funds from the three communities must be made available by September 2026.

Summit Hill Borough Council agreed to the project, stating failure to comply could result in expensive actions by the DEP, such as the state taking over the authority.

Council member Marlene Basiago said she agreed because in towns where DEP took control of sewerage systems, fees increased to as much as $125 per month.

Representatives from each of the three towns, including their respective solicitors, met recently with the sewer authority.

Attorney Robert Frycklund, solicitor for Summit Hill, said the funds would be used for cleaning and scoping sewer lines to determine where relining or replacement is needed. He said the authority made it clear it needs all three municipalities to make the same $350,000 contribution for the project to occur.

Each of the municipalities will then receive at least $350,000 in services.

This is a preliminary step toward the authority compiling an updated Act 537 Plan required by the DEP. An Act 537 plan is a comprehensive report which would explain how the municipalities intend to bring their central sewerage system into compliance with state regulations.

“We need the commitment by the end of this month,” Frycklund said of the $350,000 commitment, noting Coaldale was scheduled to discuss the matter at its meeting, which also was held last evening.

Besides Frycklund, council President David Wargo and Councilman Joseph Weber attended the authority meeting.

Weber said the last Act 537 Plan was completed in March 2005. “This is like the tip of the iceberg,” he said, stating it is only the beginning of work on the sewerage system to be required by the DEP.

Eventually, compiling the Act 537 Plan could cost over $1.3 million, he said, with the approval time frame from DEP being 3-5 years.

“The alternative would be not getting the work done and having DEP take over the sewer plant,” he said. “Then the rates would skyrocket.”

He added, “If one borough (of the three) bows out, we can’t move forward as a group.”

Council members hinted they aren’t positive from where the funding will be derived but said budget meetings are presently occurring. Earlier this year, the borough imposed a $100 annual sewage transmission fee on residents and said that money will be utilized for the project.

“I personally don’t think we have much of an option,” Weber said.

Basiago said, “Unfortunately, nothing has been done for many, many years. We have a problem, a major problem, and something’s got to be done.”

Weber said the borough presently has a moratorium on any new connections to the municipal sewerage system which hinders any potential growth.

“We’ve been put in a bad position for 30 years by inactivity before us,” Wargo said.

In voting to go with the project, council member Edward Kane said, “What choice do we have?”

Weber said when the time comes to enact an Act 537 Plan, he would have a problem using tax dollars from residents of the White Bear and Mountaintop Road sections of the borough since they don’t have the municipal sewerage system.

“Morally, I would have a problem with that,” he said.

Wargo said, “DEP looks at us as a town that doesn’t want to do anything. I think we have to move forward on this.”

The action to contribute to the sewer authority project was by a 5-0 vote, with council members Lacey Gonzalez and Alan Kruslicky absent.