CONNOQUENESSING TWP — The Connoquenessing Township Sewer Authority reviewed an engineering report Monday that included five scenarios for a proposed public sewage system that would serve up to 1,100 customers, ranging in cost from $51 million to $27 million.

Each scenario in the report, which was developed by the engineering firm Herbert, Rowland, and Grubic (HRG) had a “reduced scope” alternative included, which scaled back both the cost and size of the project and number of residents served.

However, some residents were disappointed that the scenarios would cost more than they expected and still would be installed throughout the township, which some considered invasive.

“You haven’t looked at the invasiveness,” said longtime township resident Bill Long. “That’s what started this group coming is the invasiveness. When that comes, all hell is going to break loose.”

The township, which does not have a public sewer system, has been preparing for years to install a sewer system to comply with the Department of Environmental Protection Act 537. Established in 1966, the act requires municipalities to provide public sewer systems. Sewer authority chairman Brendan Linton said the DEP began pressuring the township to implement a plan in the 1990s.

But in October, after hearing pushback from many residents at repeat meetings, the township supervisors decided to speak with the DEP to make changes to the plan.

An initial plan by Senate Engineering showed an estimated cost of $22.5 million that would have served about 1,300 homes and businesses and a proposed $3,800 mandatory tap-in fee. Sewer lines would be installed along Route 68, and residents feared the amount of construction required to install the system would wreak havoc on the natural landscape of the township.

At Monday’s meeting, Linton said sewer authority members were surprised that the plan presented Monday cost so much more than the estimate by Senate Engineering. Chad Hanley of HRG said the projected cost of the project shown in the report is more in line with actual current bid estimates and the rate of inflation.

Linton said the township has a “tough decision” to make when it comes to implementing a sewer plan.

“I was shocked at the numbers as well, but ultimately we are going to have to move forward with something to get this project done,” Linton said. “Ultimately, the township must comply with the DEP.”

Hanley also said that other costs, such as the tap-in fee and service rate, cannot be accurately estimated before any plan is implemented.

The report by HRG gives the township options as to how to connect the system, where to place lines and how many hookups to place. Some options include hooking the system up to an existing pump in another municipality, such the Butler Area Sewer Authority or the Evans City Water & Sewer Authority.

Additionally, Hanley said that while residents wanted to focus on putting the required sewage lines in the Route 68 corridor, the cost of that would not be feasible because there would be too few customers over a long span to make it cost-effective.

Hanley also emphasized that the engineers want to create a plan that is less likely to need repairs in the near future. Sewer authority vice chairman Lambert Rosenbaum said township officials likely will pursue grants to help pay for the project and lower fees for residents.

Residents said they were upset that the meeting agenda said “reduced scope engineering report,” but the plans cost more than the initial estimate.

“It’s kind of disheartening that we went into this with the idea of a reduced scope evaluation, and yet every reduced scope was unlikely to move forward,” said resident Mark Williams. “We were talking about the cost was $24 million, now we are $51 million with no feasible option of reduced cost.”

The authority did not move on adopting any of the proposed plans and will continue evaluating the plans until it is ready to make a recommendation to township supervisors.

Linton said one of the plans will likely be chosen, but that the sewer project is a “community-based project.”

“Public sewage will be coming to Connoquenessing Township,” Linton said. “We will be transparent in what goes on with this project.”

The report will be available on the sewer authority’s website, connosewer.org, for viewing.