Centre County seeks CDBG funds to connect Eagle Creek community to municipal sewer; adopts updated anti‑displacement plan

Centre County commissioners voted Jan. 29 to authorize a grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) under the competitive Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to finance a sewer connection for the Eagle Creek manufactured‑home community and also approved an updated CDBG Residential Anti‑Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan required by federal law.

The project aims to replace Eagle Creek’s aging on‑site wastewater treatment plant — which the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told the community in 2018 it would not renew — by installing a 2‑inch force main of roughly 1,400 feet that will convey sewage to a Mid‑Center Authority manhole in Unionville Borough. The plan calls for boring under the adjacent rail line, abandoning the existing treatment plant and reclaiming that site once conveyance is complete.

Why it matters: the county’s presentation said the Eagle Creek development contains 33 manufactured homes used as affordable housing for working families in the Bald Eagle region; without a municipal connection the county says the community risks losing those units. The county is allocating its regular 2024 CDBG entitlement toward the project and is seeking letters of legislative support ahead of a Feb. 7 application deadline.

Leslie, the county staff member leading the application, told commissioners the county held a public hearing that drew residents who support the project and that the application narrative emphasizes affordable housing. “Submission deadline is coming up just around the corner, February 7th,” Leslie said, adding that she was seeking support to adopt resolution 2 of 2025 to file the application.

Leslie described the conveyance route: the force main will be installed on the south side of the rail line on land owned by the Eagle Creek community for about 1,400 feet, bored under the track, then continue on the north side through private land where the homeowners association has preexisting rights of way. Once the line is complete, the existing Eagle Creek wastewater treatment plant would be abandoned and the site reclaimed.

Commissioners and staff stressed the project’s urgency because DEP issued a consent order in 2018 requiring the community to connect to a municipal system. Commissioner Concepcion thanked community members for their outreach and noted the project’s connection to economic development: “When we think about economic development in Centre County, one byproduct is that people want to be here,” Concepcion said, noting the value of retaining long‑term residents and scientists who have chosen to live and work in the county.

County staff estimated the project would be significantly more expensive if the nearest municipal main were not within roughly a mile. Commissioners and staff also acknowledged the cooperative role of Mid‑Center Authority, local municipalities and the rail line owner for permitting a boring under an active rail corridor; staff noted that stretch carries “at least a dozen trains on an average weekday.”

As part of the meeting the board also approved an updated CDBG Residential Anti‑Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan, a federal requirement under Section 104(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 that describes steps the county will take to minimize displacement caused by CDBG‑assisted activities and to provide relocation assistance or replacement housing when displacement occurs. County staff said the update was overdue and that the county’s intent is to minimize or avoid displacement when possible.

Next steps: staff will finalize the application this week and continue seeking legislative letters of support; Leslie said she expected letters from state legislators and planned to request a letter from the local member of Congress. The county indicated award notifications for this competitive CDBG round typically arrive by April, though timelines vary by year.

No award or external funding commitment has been received; the county’s action at the meeting was to authorize application submission and to adopt the updated anti‑displacement plan.