Milford adopts central sewage plan

The Milford Borough Council on Feb. 18 adopted a plan for building a central sewage system in the borough’s commercial district.

The council voted 6-1 to send the plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Councilman Peter Cooney voted against the plan.

The council adopted the plan, Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan of Eastern Pike County, and sent it to the DEP with two amendments.

One change says the borough will pursue additional grants to make the monthly cost more feasible. The plan says the borough will pay $76 per EDU, with a 45 percent grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (An EDU, or equivalent dwelling unit, is a unit of measure for sewage generation and is approximately equal to sewage generated by an average single-family residence.)

The second change is to begin the dates with 2021, and that the state will keep monitoring unless there are a serious number of septic failures.

Work on the plan started in 2018. It will provide central sewage along Broad Street and down the alleys on either side. It will also send sewer service down West and East Harford Streets. Any extension beyond that would require a 537 module.

The residential district will remain on their on-lot systems.

“This is a 537 for the entire borough,” Council President Frank Tarquinio said. “It doesn’t just cover the commercial district.”

Mark Spatz of Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, the engineering firm that designed the system, said proposed sewer route has many documented failures, including about 20 to 30 cesspools — underground containers for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage.

“When your community is a majority of cesspools, that’s justification for having a public sewer,” Spatz said.

There were questions about odors. Spatz said odors are more of a problem with cesspools and septic tanks, which hold waste for up to three years.

The DEP is expected to return the plan next year with comments. The plan will then have to be revised to address DEP concerns.

After that, Milford Township, Westfall Township, and Matamoras Borough will enter into new intermunicipal agreements. There will be another vote when the funding is obtained by the borough council. Then there will be three years of engineering followed by five years of construction.

Borough resident Bill Kiger called the vote an important first step, and then called the next step even more important.

“Several of us will like assurances that there will be a public hearing and will discuss the financial implications for property owners and address some of the impacts on tourism, traffic, construction, etc.,” he said. “That has to be thought about, and I don’t think it will be addressed.”

Link to planning area maps.

Link to survey result map.