JEFFERSON TWP. - A plan that forces people away from their septic systems for public sewers angered some residents of two roads who will be affected.
Residents living along Living Waters and Archbald Mountain roads fumed on Monday at the Jefferson Twp. Sewer Authority for including their roads in a plan to require replacing their septic systems with sewer hookups.
Nearly two dozen residents living along the two roads showed up to vent at sewer authority members for forwarding a plan to the board of supervisors.
Earlier in the week, residents delivered a petition of 21 people living on the two roads who opposed requirements that would force them to pay $3,800 in a hookup fee to the township and annual fees of about $600. Residents also would have to pay additional plumbing costs related to the initial hookup.
Sewer authority members said they included the roads in the plan that requires just under 100 residential homes to switch to sewer systems because the type of soil in the area causes in-ground septic systems to fail. Since the early 2000s, the township has installed sewage for about 1,000 residential homes and businesses.
Sewer authority members say about a half-dozen septic systems in the area, including Living Waters and Archbald Mountain roads, have been documented as failing through the years.
Sewer authority attorney Robert A. Cecchini told the aggravated audience they each had up to five minutes to speak.
"We're not going to go around the room jumping up and down," Mr. Cecchini said.
Will Keating, 1642 Archbald Mountain Road, said his septic system was incorrectly identified by the sewer authority as malfunctioning six years ago. He asked why no one had informed him about the system working improperly.
"What is wrong with the system if six years have gone by and no one was told about it?" asked Mr. Keating.
Although residents at the meeting were told the plan to require people to use sewage systems had been sent to the supervisors, they continued asking questions about why they should have to switch systems and asked about pay and hours of sewer authority employees.
After listening to questions from a few more residents, the sewer authority adjourned the meeting and left the room while residents continued to argue with a staff member of the sewer authority.
After the meeting, Bill Nicholais, sewer authority chairman, said the switch to sewer systems will save residents money when compared to failed septic systems. The township's sewage enforcement officer, Homer Butler, wrote a letter to the supervisors in May saying that the area, including Living Waters and Archbald Mountain roads, is "not conducive to in-ground sewage drain fields. In-ground systems will malfunction in this area."
"It will cost them $15,000 to $21,000 to replace a septic system," Mr. Nicholais said.
In 1989, the Department of Environmental Protection mandated the township take action because of septic tank failures. For the sewer authority, that action involved requiring residents to change using septic systems to sewage systems.
For some residents, the dispute involving sewer and septic tanks had turned into a question of credibility. Mr. Keating, a former supervisor, said he's aggravated with answers he has received.
"We've dealt with these people for a long time, and they'll just lie to your face," he said. The supervisors will meet July 2 to discuss the plan and decide whether to recommend sending it to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com