After years of contentious debate and prolonged periods of inaction, leaders of Connoquenessing Township reached a decision regarding the municipality’s Act 537 Sewage Plan.

During last Wednesday’s monthly meeting, supervisors voted in favor of regional treatment at the Saxonburg Area Authority, one of four feasible alternatives that were laid out by engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. in the township’s 110-page base plan.

In a 2-1 vote, Supervisors Bruce Steinhiser and Ricky Kradel were in the affirmative, while Supervisor Angela Fleeger dissented.

Fleeger said that cost and a lack of exploration into other options is what led to her decision.

“I voted ‘no’ against that plan because I said it was not affordable to our residents as it stands,” she said, adding that grants and loans are “an absolute must” to make the plan affordable. “I also felt that we did not properly explore the direct customer option from Pennsylvania American Water.”

Now that option, along with the entire plan, will be sent to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection for review and possible approval.

While there is no set timeline for when that decision could arrive, Fleeger noted that it could take around six months.

“It’s in their hands,” she said. “It really depends on what they already have on their plate as well.”

Per the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act of 1966, all municipalities must develop and implement a comprehensive sewage facilities plan that addresses present and future sewage disposal needs.

The authority’s wastewater treatment plant on Renfrew Road in Penn Township has been in operation since April 2007. It currently processes wastewater for about 4,500 customers across five municipalities, including Saxonburg and Jefferson, Clinton, Penn and Middlesex townships.

If approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, the township would send wastewater from about 800 equivalent dwelling units to the authority, which has the ability to treat up to 400,000 gallons per day. Well above the township’s projected need of 117,000 gallons.

The most significant expense would be the construction of a new township-owned collection system that would utilize a mix of gravity sewers, pressure mains and pump stations to carry sewage to the plant. Meanwhile, privately owned plants like Brandywine and Shannon Mills would remain operational, although the system would be built to accommodate future connections if necessary.

Residents connected to the system would pay treatment costs of roughly $24.09 per month, based on a bulk treatment rate of $5.50 per 1,000 gallons. Tap-in fees are estimated to be $3,315 per equivalent dwelling unit, or EDU, which stands as the current fee at the authority.

Another feature would include building pump stations at mobile home parks and campgrounds, such as Buttercup Campground, Rolling Valley Estates and Woodland Meadows.

The township would also assume control of the Kriess Road Pump Station, upgrading it as needed to redirect flow to the new system. Additional pump stations would be built along Moose Road and Powder Mill Road.

An earlier consent decree from the state required a plan to be submitted by June 21. However, during a meeting last month, supervisors announced that the deadline was pushed back to Aug. 20, which gave them more time to gather public input before the final decision.

Attempts to reach Supervisors Steinhiser and Kradel for comment were unsuccessful. Both of their terms are set to expire at year’s end.

“Likely, they will not be around by the time we hear back from the (Department of Environmental Protection),” Fleeger said.

Other alternatives deemed feasible included construction of a $53 million township-owned wastewater treatment plant, a scaled-back version of a township-owned plant and regional treatment through Pennsylvania American Water’s Butler Wastewater District.