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Township advances Act 537 sewer special study for County Line Road with affordability conditions
Summary
The board voted to advance and adopt a resolution to transmit an Act 537 special study enabling a planned low-pressure sewer extension to serve roughly 90 properties on County Line Road/Hidden Valley, while requiring that per-connection costs, tapping fees and hookup timing be addressed before construction proceeds.
The West Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors voted to advance an Act 537 sewage-facilities special study on June 2024 that would extend a low‑pressure sanitary sewer to about 90 properties along County Line Road and Hidden Valley. Authority representatives said the project would use individual grinder pumps and roughly 9,000 feet of HDPE piping to convey flows to the authority’s lift station and treatment plant.
The sewer authority representative told the board the project received a Pennsylvania H2O grant of $268,000 and that the authority’s current estimate for the public-bid construction is $2,922,182, with an estimated private connection cost in the range of $12,100 for tapping fees and an estimated total per connection of about $38,450. The representative said the authority agreed not to proceed with construction if the total per-connection cost exceeded $40,000.
Why it matters: many homes in the area rely on on‑lot disposal systems that the board said are failing or require frequent repair, and supervisors and residents framed the proposal as both a potential public‑health measure and an affordability concern. Multiple supervisors urged stronger protections for fixed‑income homeowners and clear limits on mandatory hookups.
The board’s action and conditions: a supervisor moved to forward the study and asked that a resolution and accompanying letter memorialize several items: clear language on hookup requirements (no mandatory connection except on resale, malfunction or a township-determined failing system), a 10‑year connection window tied to project completion, third‑party reinspection proposals for systems remaining in use, and continued negotiation of tapping fees. The motion was seconded and carried.
Board members and residents pressed the authority on how the estimated costs were computed, whether tapping fees could be reduced and how any future bids would affect per-connection numbers. The authority said final tapping fees and household costs will be clearer after public bidding and that officials are pursuing additional grant funding and state assistance to lower the household share.
Next steps: the resolution advances the Act 537 special study to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for its required review. The authority and township staff will return with final bid pricing, any DEP comments, and proposed connection‑ordinance language; supervisors instructed staff to ensure the concerns raised tonight are included in the resolution and in correspondence with the authority.
Quote: “We are looking to extend public sanitary sewer to about 90 existing properties,” the authority representative said, noting the authority will not proceed if per‑connection costs exceed $40,000.
The board’s vote moved the study forward; no construction authorization was given tonight, and supervisors said they expect further negotiations on tapping fees and final cost figures before any contract is awarded.
