Hubley Twp. opts for sewer system

“Either people are coming to the realization that the sewer line is coming and they need to accept it or this meeting wasn’t advertised enough,” said Fritz Bowman, a member of the Hegins-Hubley Water Authority, as he attended a public sewer meeting held last Thursday evening in the Tri-Valley High School Auditorium.
There were only three members from the public present at the meeting which included the Hegins Township and Hubley Township Supervisors and members of the Hegins-Hubley Authority as well as representatives from Alfred Benesch, the engineering firm hired by Hegins Twp. to complete the engineering work needed for the sewer project.
The meeting was held to inform the public that Hubley Township supervisors voted at a recent township meeting and agreed to join Hegins in installing a sewer line.
“This all happened very quickly,” said Hegins Township Supervisor Lyle Clark. “We met with Hubley Township Supervisors on February 16 to determine if they were onboard with us.”
Since Hubley will be joining the project, the public should not expect to have a sewer line installed by the original estimated completion date of 2012.
“We will need time to bring Hubley Township to the point where Hegins Township is,” said Natalie O’Connor, a representative form Alfred Benesch. “Hegins Township’s Act 537 plan will be on hold until we have the proper time to complete a combined plan.”
Surveys will be mailed to the public in Hubley Township, well testing will be conducted, surface water testing will be held and it will be determined if there are malfunctioning systems.
Benesch representatives remind residents they need not worry that they will be in any type of trouble if they are experiencing a problem with their system.
With the inclusion of Hubley Township, O’Connor said the waste water treatment plant will most likely be constructed in Hubley Township which she claims will help with the entire system and will cause more gravitational flow.
When asked about funding and costs, there were no definite answers given. O’Connor said a new cost estimate and funding analysis will need to be completed.
Benesch representatives said the addition of Hubley has many benefits including:
• Increased user base
• Increase the value of property
• Increase development in Hegins and Hubley Township
• Open the Route 25 corridor for development
Route 25 development
When asked how the addition of a sewer line will increase the development on the Route 25 corridor since most of the land is farmland, Benesch representatives said the addition of a sewer line could provide the opportunity for land that is being leased to farmers, to be sold for development.
Where will the pipe be installed
Benesch representatives said they want to stay off Route 25 when it comes to installing the sewer line. They said they realize there are places in Hubley Township where there are no alley ways. They said they will be looking into that. There is a possibility that the line could be run along the same area as the water line, however DEP does have regulations as to how close sewer and water lines can be to each other.
“The work that has already been completed in Hegins Township will not change,” said O’Connor. “We just need to get Hubley to the same point as Hegins and then the project can move forward. She said meetings will be announced at a later date.”

 

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters