HARRISBURG – Following a petition by the Department of Environmental Protection, Commonwealth Court Judge Keith B. Quigley has ordered Cromwell Township, Huntingdon County, to implement its Act 537 sewage facilities plan and provide public sewers in areas that have been identified as needing sewer service.
“The department is pleased with the court’s ruling,” said DEP Southcentral Regional Director Rachel Diamond. “It’s time for Cromwell Township to stop delaying action and address the ongoing problems with malfunctioning septic systems. This is in the best interest of its residents.
“Hopefully, township officials will heed the court’s decision and resolve this issue in order to protect public health and the environment.”
The Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, or Act 537, requires municipalities to develop and implement official comprehensive plans that resolve existing sewage disposal problems and provide for the future sewage disposal needs of new land development.
DEP approved Cromwell’s Act 537 plan revision in August 2000, but after the department directed the township to begin design and construction work on the needed sewage facilities, Cromwell requested and received three extensions to implement the plan.
When the township received bids in July 2005 that exceeded initial estimates and would have resulted in higher user rates, it requested the opportunity to investigate alternative options.
The township then signed an agreement to send its sewage to the Orbisonia-Rockhill Joint Municipal Authority in November 2005 for a reduced cost at the same level of service.
In January 2006, DEP approved the township’s amended plan containing the Orbisonia-Rockhill Joint Municipal Authority agreement, but the township’s newly elected supervisors repealed previous ordinances that were necessary to implement the sewage agreement plan.
The township also went to the Environmental Hearing Board to appeal DEP’s approval of the plan that contained the authority’s agreement.
The joint municipal authority subsequently filed suit against Cromwell in April 2006 and asked the Huntingdon County Court to enforce the agreement and/or reimburse the Orbisonia-Rockhill Joint Municipal Authority for legal and engineering costs. Cooperation between the authority and Cromwell ceased and DEP rescinded its approval in October 2006, yet Cromwell refused to withdraw its appeal.
The Environmental Hearing Board ultimately dismissed the appeal as unnecessary.
The DEP petition to enforce to which the court agreed will require Cromwell Township to implement the department’s May 24, 2002, order calling for certain areas of the township to be sewered and served at a treatment plant operated by Cromwell.