SCOTT TWP. - The sewer authority has lost out on close to $24,000 in sewer bill payments since December - a figure that will continue to climb until the approximately 25 missing lateral sewer lines are installed.
At a Scott Twp. Sewer Authority meeting Tuesday, board members voted unanimously to pay Rock Bottom Construction of Jermyn $3,750 to install two of the laterals, or sewer hookups for homes and businesses, that were missed or skipped during the course of the design and construction.
The remaining laterals will be put out to bid once Quad3, a Wilkes-Barre engineering firm hired to replace BCM Engineering, finishes the designs - a process that could take two to three weeks. Then, once the authority receives a $1 million federal loan, it will pay for the installation.
In the meantime, the residents owed a lateral will continue to rely on their septic tanks to treat sewage and, therefore, won't have to pay the $88 monthly sewer bill.
"Once that frost hits the ground, the laterals are going to jump in price," board member Stanley Stracham said. "We've already waited a year; we wasted a year and we lost a lot of money."
Since December, the township hasn't charged at least 25 EDUs, or equivalent dwelling units, along the central sewer line, losing out on a minimum of $23,650 in sewer bill payments.
When asked whether the authority will press charges against BCM for its failure to complete the work the authority paid for, Chairman Mike Grant said, "We are doing what we have to do. That is all I will say at this point."
Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter