HARMONY — A commonplace right-of-way agreement between the borough and the state Department of Transportation last year called into question the legal status of the borough water authority.

However, a little paper pushing at the county courthouse revealed the problem to be a moot point.

Councilman Gary Habsburg in December negotiated with PennDOT for the $10,700 sale of about 6,800 square feet of water authority property along Nickel Road as part of PennDOT's missing ramps project.

During negotiations, council and water authority leaders learned the property deed was still in the name of the original authority, which ceased operation in the 1970s, said Matt Marshall, borough solicitor and former authority solicitor.

Failure to properly record the dissolution of the old authority cast a shadow on the legality of the current authority.

The first municipal authority formed in 1948 or 1949 as a sewer authority and leased the system to the borough, Marshall said.

The authority then acquired land and constructed the water plant on Nickel Road.

In the early 1970s, the sewage system was sold to the Western Butler County Authority, and the water plant ceased operation, Marshall said.

At some point between 1972 and 1974 council voted to dissolve the water authority, but the county courthouse has no record of the dissolution, he said.

"I suspect it was" filed but was lost in the shuffle of numerous courthouse dockets at the time, Marshall said.

The current Harmony Water Authority was created in 1995.

For now, the water plant and its assets remain in the name of the old authority, but the borough took control of all assets after the dissolution, said Jeff Smith, borough council president.

The new water plant is actually property of the borough and leased to the authority, he said.

Proceeds from the sale of any of those assets revert to the borough, he said.

"It could have gone unnoticed for another 35 years with no problem," Smith said.

The borough received the $10,700 check from PennDOT last month.

The missing ramps project calls for a new southbound on-ramp and a northbound off-ramp to Interstate 79 in Jackson Township. The project could cost $10 million to $20 million and construction is scheduled between 2010 and 2011.