With the current deadline drawing closer and work still ongoing to draft their newest Act 537 public sewage plan, Connoquenessing Township officials are requesting two more months to prepare the new proposal.

Township Supervisor Angela Fleeger said Thursday, May 7, the township submitted a letter requesting an extension from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. If the extension is granted, the revised plan will be due on Sept. 1 instead of July 1.

She said she informed residents during Wednesday’s supervisors meeting that the extension was requested on May 1. The decision to request an extension followed two fact-finding sessions related to the plan, including an April 29 session with DEP representatives.

“They were very productive,” Fleeger said about the sessions. “We discussed our progress, our concerns — especially financial — and was able to get DEP feedback.”

While the department had yet to respond by Wednesday, Fleeger said the township is confident the extension will be granted soon, as the two entities have remained in close contact as work continues.

Work began on a township sewage plan in 2023 when the township received a letter from the DEP stating it was in violation of the 1966 Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act for failing to implement public sewage.

In July 2025, the board voted 2-1 to submit a plan that faced backlash from residents. However, the plan was rejected in December — primarily due to high resident costs and agricultural impacts.

The department initially gave the township until July 1 to submit a revised plan.

In its rejection letter, the department also offered advice on how to alter its Act 537 plan and receive an approval. The letter suggested ways to reduce the scope and cost of the project, including prioritizing problem areas such as Winterwood Drive and Eagle Mill, Evans City and Kriess roads.

Since then, Fleeger and two new township supervisors who took office in January, Mark Williams and Ray Kroll, have been working alongside the municipality’s engineer to make several potential plans.

Fleeger said Wednesday the fact-finding sessions are helping the township coalesce potential plans into a finalized shape. She said the township is hoping to have a plan available for public display sometime in June.