The proposed project will provide public sewer service to one-hundred forty-six (146) existing residential, commercial, and institutional equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) located along the State Route 34 (Red Hill Road) planned growth area and along Juniata Parkway; thereby allowing for the decommissioning of an existing packaged wastewater treatment plant and failing on-lot disposal systems. Wastewater will be conveyed to the Newport Borough Municipal Authority’s (NBMA) wastewater facility for treatment and disposal.
New customers located in the proposed project area will benefit from public wastewater service, the decommissioning of failed on-lot systems and the decommissioning of a packaged wastewater treatment facility. Existing NBMA customers will benefit from the economies of scale gained from serving these new users. The regionalization will also benefit both communities from economic development to sustainable rates as a reduction in redundant services.
The proposed sewer facilities will generally consist of 6,724 linear feet (LF) of gravity sewer line, 7,253 LF of low pressure sewer, 8,532 LF of forcemain and three (3) sewage pumping stations. This project will include decommissioning of a 5,000 gpd packaged wastewater treatment facility, and approximately ninety-two (92) on-lot disposal systems in order to send wastewater flow to the NBMA Wastewater Treatment Facility. The NBMA’s facilities will be expanded to handle the additional wastewater plus an allocation for future flows.
The estimated Project Cost is approximately $8.8 million including purchase of wastewater treatment capacity at the NBMA WWTP and upfront Newport design costs. An intermunicipal agreement was signed by the Authority with Howe Township, Borough of Newport, Oliver Township, Newport Borough Municipal Authority, and the Oliver Township Municipal Authority for wastewater generated in Howe Township to be treated and disposed of in the Borough of Newport.
The Authority is committed to obtaining as much public grant funding as possible to reduce the financial burden to the residents of the community. To date the Authority has secured the following grants and loans:
Pennworks Grant: $2,849,257
Pennvest Loan: $460,000
In 2018, HTMA received an Offer from PENNVEST that includes a $2,981,510 grant and a loan in the amount of $4,528,590 at a rate of 1% for 40 years.
HTMA received an entitlement grant from CDBG for $73,103. This grant will be used, specifically to help offset the cost of constructing laterals and abandoning of the septic tanks for those qualifying residents. To discuss the program, or to identify if you qualify for funding, please contact Frank Campbell.
HTMA is applying for a $1,000,000 CDBG State Competitive Grant. If received, the grant will help reduce the projected average monthly user rate by nearly $20 a month! HTMA needs support from the residents of Howe Township by writing letters of support for the grant that can be used in the application. These letters should indicate how the grant will help make this project affordable to you or if you are having trouble with your septic, how the grant will help you personally. A public information session will be held in the Community Room at the Pinnacle Health Building on August 20 at 5:30PM.
If you have questions please contact me, Frank Campbell, Authority Chairman at camel26@embarqmail.com or Josh Fox, P.E., HRG’s Project Manager at jfox@hrg-inc.com or come join us at a regularly scheduled Howe Township Municipal Authority Meeting held every third Monday of the month at 5:30pm at the Red Hill Community Center
