CLEARFIELD – A request for more time to solve a sewage overflow problem has been denied by the Department of Environmental Protection.
At Tuesday’s Clearfield Municipal Authority meeting, Jim Bailliet of Gwin, Dobson and Foreman, said DEP has denied a request to extend the deadline for permanently closing the sanitary sewage overflow in Hyde.
Balliet said CMA had requested DEP extend the deadline from Sept. 1, 2018 to Sept. 1, 2019. However, Balliet said he received word on Monday that the request has been denied.
Balliet said representatives of the CMA board will need to meet with Lawrence Township to discuss what will need to be done in order to meet the deadline.
Balliet said the Hyde SSO was not opened last month and no fines were incurred by CMA. However, Balliet said there will be a lot of work to complete in order to meet the deadline.
According to previously published GANT News articles, during periods of heavy rain, stormwater backs up into the sanitary sewer system.
The excess water forces the authority to open the sanitary sewer overflow in Hyde in order to release the water into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
Each time the overflow is opened, CMA receives a fine from DEP. The fine is divided between Lawrence Township, which pays 80 percent of the fine and CMA, which pays the remaining 20 percent.
The excess stormwater has been an ongoing problem for CMA, Lawrence Township and Clearfield Borough.
Both the borough and township have undertaken projects to remove stormwater from the sewage system.
However, Lawrence Township has been having problems with property owners who have illegal stormwater connections, such as French drains and downspouts that continue to discharge stormwater into the sewer system.
