Mill Hall officials say school grease, toilet paper pose risk to borough sewer system

Mill Hall Borough officials told the Keystone Central School District facilities committee on May 27 that grease, toilet paper and other debris from the district’s Mill Hall schools are accumulating in borough sewer lines and could soon cause backups in the borough system.

The borough’s representative, Derek Perry, who identified himself as a member of Mill Hall Borough Council, said borough staff inspected grease traps and a manhole outside Central Mountain Middle School and found a “huge amount” of white toilet paper and other material mixed with grease. He said the borough has already been cleaning lines near the schools and may begin billing the district for that work if the problem is not resolved.

The borough’s public works foreman, listed in the transcript as Bridal *****, said the elementary-school grease trap showed excess water and grease and that the middle-school trap appears to be failing. Sam, district facilities staff, said the grease traps “haven’t been cleaned since I got here last August” and that the district will clean and inspect traps to ensure they are working.

Perry told the committee that the debris has already affected nearby residences in the past. “You start compiling that with the toilet paper, the grease. You’re just creating a huge mess,” he said, adding that if the matter reaches borough lines it can cause backups in borough homes. He also warned the committee that the borough is preparing a second bill and that “moving forward, if we can’t find some sort of resolution to this, it’s gonna start becoming a fine based approach.”

Committee members and borough staff discussed short-term and long-term options. Borough staff recommended sewer jetting to clear accumulated material and said the borough can perform jetting with its equipment (they said their jetting reaches roughly 500 feet). The borough foreman also recommended inspecting and cleaning grease traps annually and suggested a grinder pump as a longer-term solution to reduce solids entering the mains, but said a grinder would be a significant expense. Perry and the foreman also described toilet inserts and other devices that can catch large items but noted those can create maintenance burdens if school staff must manually clear them.

Sam told the committee the district will arrange to have the grease traps cleaned and inspected this summer and will coordinate sewer-jetting and manhole cleaning; he said the district will monitor whether those steps resolve the problem and revisit longer-term measures if the problem persists. The borough offered to schedule jetting if the district requests it and asked for at least one week’s notice to schedule crews.

No formal motion or vote was taken at the facilities committee meeting. The committee’s direction was to have district facilities staff clean and inspect the grease traps, schedule sewer-jetting to clear accumulated material, and coordinate with Mill Hall Borough on any additional work or billing. The borough indicated it may pursue billing or fines if the debris continues to enter borough sewers.

The committee asked that the borough’s inspection photos and findings be shared with the full board and that administration follow up with the borough and present costs and a plan to the board if the district elects to accept the borough’s jetting offer or pursue permanent hardware changes such as hand dryers or a grinder pump.