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H20 Grants

Those awarded H20 grants in Mifflin and Juniata Counties are:

* $6.5 million for the Newton-Wayne Joint Municipal Authority collection and conveyance project

* $5 million for Lewistown Borough to regionalize wastewater treatment services

* $994,304 for Derry Township Sanitary Sewer Authority's Maitland Area sanitary sewer extension

* $1.9 million for the Thompsontown Municipal Authority's water improvement project

* $1.5 million for the Mifflintown Municipal Authority's water facilities improvement project

These figures were obtained from a press release issued by Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte.

LEWISTOWN - The numbers are in and several local sewer authorities are breathing a sigh of relief that their projects made the list.

The Commonwealth Financing Authority recently announced its financial awards through the state's H20 Program, which provides grants to municipalities and municipal authorities to assist with the construction, improvement, expansion or rehabilitation of water supply, sewage disposal or storm-water systems.

Newton-Wayne Joint Municipal Authority is among the entities that fared well in obtaining funds through the competitive grant program.

Victor Dimoff, chairman of the Newton-Wayne Joint Municipal Authority, said the authority was awarded about $6.56 million for its sewage collection and conveyance project. Dimoff said the residents of Newton-Hamilton Borough and Wayne Township will benefit greatly from the grant.

"It's actually a pretty big deal for us - this allows for the project to go forward and keep user rates within reason," Dimoff said.

The engineer on the project, Dan Guss of Uni-Tech Inc., said the project consists of putting in collection pipe lines in an area that serves 460 single-family homes located within Newton-Hamilton Borough and Wayne Township. Guss said the areas the pipe lines will service currently have many malfunctioning septic systems. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a consent order requiring the authority to draw up a plan for fixing the problem and to stick by it, Guss stated.

Guss said the authority has a plan in place but is behind with implementing it. The main reason is a lack of funding for the project. During the summer of 2008, the authority was awarded a loan through Pennvest but opted to not accept it due to high interest rates, Guss said. In February, the authority was awarded a $3 million loan, again through Pennvest, but because the project cost is estimated to be $10 million, the authority had to figure out an alternative source for funding instead of pushing the entire burden onto the residents, he said.

In February, the authority applied for a grant through the H20 program and was awarded more than $6 million by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, which requires a match grant. Guss said the Pennvest loan and other money through the Community Development Block Grant program are considered to be the authority's contributing match.

The project is slated to begin in the spring of 2010, and in addition to new collection pipes, it also includes three pump stations, Guss said. He added that two of the pump stations will enter into the third pump station from where the sewage will be piped across the Juniata River to Mount Union Borough's sewage treatment facility, using a pipeline put in place by Kistler Borough.

Guss said Uni-Tech is getting the project ready to bid and plans to formally open bids sometime within the next two months.

Another big winner in the state sewer grant awards was the Mifflintown Municipal Authority, which received $1.5 million for its water facilities improvement project. Ronald Shearer, a member of the Mifflintown Municipal Authority, said through the help of Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, and Rep. Adam Harris, R-Mifflintown, the authority was able to procure the grant, which will help cover additional costs incurred in building its new treatment plant.

"It is really a godsend ... it shows (that) the community is planning into the future," Shearer said.

Shearer said the authority received a $7 million loan through Pennvest to fund the project, but through the design process, implementation and upgrading, the authority needed extra money to complete the project. Shearer said the project is estimated to cost $8.4 million, and the difference will be made up through the $1.5 million grant from the state.

"There are so many permits, it is very time consuming," Shearer said. "And you have a number when you start a project but then you have to add a little to it and need some additional money."

Shearer said he believes that the authority is fiscally conservative, but added that modernization is both necessary and costly.

The project consists of building a new treatment plant that has three filters, while the old treatment plant only utilized two, Shearer said. He added that the filters in the new plant are in place and running on a test basis. The plant should be fully operational soon and that the authority had been aiming for July to have the work completed, he said.

Shearer said the authority services Mifflintown and Mifflin Borough as well as portions of Milford, Walker and Fermanagh townships. Shearer said the authority also was able to procure a $500,000 grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to fund a project that will help increase the water flow to the industrial park in Mifflintown and other commercial areas as well.

Lewistown Borough also was high on the list of grants awarded. The borough had originally applied for $19 million but was awarded $5 million.

Lewistown Borough Manager David Frey said while the borough received significantly less than asked for, it is still grateful for the money it will receive.

Frey said the borough's grant application was to cover costs associated with meeting the stringent requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Strategy, mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

He said the cost associated with making necessary upgrades to be in compliance with the strategy could cost the borough around $31 million. However, it's likely the cost has only risen since, because that figure was arrived at several years ago, Frey added.

Frey said while the $5 million will certainly help, it by no means will cover the entire cost, some of which will inevitably have to come from an increase in user rates within the borough.

Derry Township Municipal Authority and Thompsontown Municipal Authority also were among the listed recipients of state funding. Derry Township will receive $994,304 for the Maitland Area sanitary sewer extension. Thompsontown will receive $1.9 million for the municipal authority's water improvement project.

Thompsontown Borough Council President Don Eager said the borough is happy to hear it was among those awarded grants.

"We are thrilled; between the developers and Chesapeake Bay issues, everyone along the Juniata has a problem, so it's really something for us to receive this," Eager said.