DEP orders Tamaqua to fix sewer discharge
http://republicanherald.com/news/dep-orders-tamaqua-to-fix-sewer-discharge-1.1080322
DEP orders Tamaqua to fix sewer discharge
BY BEN WOLFGANG (STAFF WRITER bwolfgang@republicanherald.com)
Published: December 21, 2010
TAMAQUA – The borough has a little more than eight months to identify and reroute all illegal sewer discharge into Wabash Creek, the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered last week.
“The borough’s failure to address the problem left us with no choice but to order them to comply,” DEP’s Northeast Regional Director Michael Bedrin said in a written statement Monday.
According to DEP, at least two locations have been illegally discharging sewage directly into the creek, and there are 39 other potential illegal discharge sites.
The Tamaqua Public Library, 30 S. Railroad St., is one of the two confirmed locations, according to DEP.
DEP conducted dye tests earlier this year confirming the illegal discharge. Complaints about the discharge have been ongoing for several years and efforts to fix the problems have been unsuccessful, DEP said.
The discharges violate Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.
“We want this addressed as quickly as possible,” DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said Monday. “This isn’t something new. They should have been looking at this for a while.”
DEP has ordered the library to connect to the borough sewer system by May 31, 2011. The other sites have until Aug. 31 to comply.
“There are no excuses for these violations. The borough was responsible for dealing with this pollution, failed in that responsibility and allowed raw sewage to be discharged into the creek,” said Bedrin.
DEP has ordered the borough to:
– Take whatever steps necessary to require the library to connect to the Tamaqua wastewater system
– Take whatever steps are necessary to investigate the sources of the sewage, notify owners of the problem and order them to correct it
– Identify any and all pipes funneling sewage directly into Wabash Creek
– Submit a report to DEP by Sept. 30 documenting the results of borough investigations and outlining the steps taken to address the problem
– Submit quarterly written progress reports
Tamaqua Mayor Christian Morrison and solicitor Michael Greek had no comment and directed all questions to borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt, who did return calls Monday.