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Glassport schedules town hall on possible sale of sewage plant; council approves sewer studies to address NPDES compliance
Summary
Glassport Borough Council set a March 17 town hall to discuss a possible sale of the sewage plant and approved two engineering studies — a $5,000 KLH sanitary sewer rate study and an approximately $10,000 12‑month Operational Evaluation Study — after reporting repeated fecal coliform exceedances under the borough's NPDES permit.
Glassport Borough Council on Feb. 18 scheduled a public town hall for 6 p.m. on March 17 in council chambers to discuss the possible sale of the borough sewage plant and approved two studies to address ongoing wastewater compliance issues.
The Borough Manager reported the borough has “had repeated Fecal Coliform exceedances” under its NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit and said KLH has recommended a 12‑month Operational Evaluation Study to determine whether incomplete nitrification is occurring and whether that is increasing chloramine formation and chlorine demand. Council approved the Operational Evaluation Study as proposed by KLH at an approximate cost of $10,000 (motion by Council Vice President Mark Stecak; second by Councilwoman Meghan DeVerse). The DEP has approved the study, the manager said.
Separately, council authorized a professional Sanitary Sewer Rate Study from KLH not to exceed $5,000 to analyze what sewage rates should be given the condition of the lines and the results of the operational study (motion by Councilman Dave Kowalski; second by DeVerse). Both motions passed on recorded votes with four yes and three members absent.
Council also approved Resolution No. 1 authorizing the acquisition and subsequent disposition of parcel 467‑R‑123 (508 Cypress Alley) to Thomas Mullen through the Vacant Property Recovery Program; that resolution and the sewer‑plant town hall are separate items but both involve property and infrastructure decisions that could affect sewer operations.
During public comment, resident Toni Cregan urged the borough to consider forming a municipal authority to operate sewage services, saying an authority can access additional funding sources compared with a private sale; council did not act on that suggestion at the meeting but the topic is squarely on the agenda for the March 17 town hall. Resident Andrea Norelli asked why vacant properties must pay for trash removal, a separate but related question about billing for vacant parcels.
The borough also reported receipt of a $50,000 GEDTF grant to convert lighting in the borough office to LEDs; that energy project was authorized for advertisement at the meeting.
Next steps: the borough will proceed with the two KLH studies, advertise the LED conversion project, and hold the March 17 town hall to collect public comment about the potential sale of the sewage plant.
