The Connoquenessing Township Sewer Authority voted Monday to examine the feasibility of different scenarios relating to a proposed public sewage system in the township.

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.

The engineering firm Herbert, Rowland and Grubic (HRG) presented five scenarios to the authority at July’s meeting, which ranged in cost from $27 million to $51 million and would serve up to 1,100 customers. Some of the scenarios involved connecting the lines to the Saxonburg Area Authority or the Evans City Water & Sewer Authority; and those scenarios would be the focus of the study, according to the Connoquenessing Sewer Authority solicitor Andrew Menchyk.

Menchyk said the Connoquenessing Township supervisors also have to pass a motion to officially approve the study, and they would also have to vote to reimburse the sewer authority for fees paid to HRG for performing the study.

Linton said the cost of each of the studies is estimated to be in the five-figure range, and he does not know how long they would take to complete.

“One of the studies is going to cost around $10,000 to $12,000,” he said. “So there would be additional tax money spent.”

Menchyk also said the authority voted to create a subcommittee to examine the feasibility of implementing a sewer system solely on the Route 68 corridor, which had been requested by township residents. The subcommittee also needs approval from the supervisors before it can be formed, and the sewer authority chose Lambert Rosenbaum and Ken Dumbaugh as potential members, with the possibility of including residents, as well.

Many residents were dismayed after seeing HRG’s plans at the authority’s July meeting, saying that they wanted a plan that was smaller in scope and cost than the initial proposal by Senate Engineering.

Senate Engineering’s plan had an estimated cost of $22.5 million that would have served about 1,300 homes and businesses and came with a proposed $3,800 mandatory tap-in fee, which would pay part of the cost of the installation.

Linton also said the DEP has taken legal action against municipalities in the past that don’t comply with regulations. The township is trying to avoid this by implementing a plan. He also emphasized that the five members of the authority are not being paid, they all live in the township and would be affected by the implementation of the sewer plan.

“There has been occasional back-and-forth with the DEP whether that is through HRG or the solicitor,” he said. “Has it gotten to the level of getting a notice of violation from them? No. But there has been conversation with the DEP.”

Menchyk said the sewer authority first will recommend a plan to the township supervisors, who will then implement the chosen proposal.

“None of those scenarios at this time has been recommended to the supervisors,” Menchyk said. “The supervisors have tasked the authority with finding and recommending a plan to implement in the township.”

Bill Long, a longtime resident of Connoquenessing Township, said Tuesday that he plans to continue urging the sewer authority and the supervisors to reconsider the plan, which he called infeasible to a community like Connoquenessing.

“The citizens want what was promised, a less expensive and less invasive system,” Long said. “Nothing last night was voted on for the sewer project itself.”

Long said he was happy about one motion the authority approved Monday, that being a resolution requiring its members to vote publicly to enter executive sessions going forward.

Linton said the proverbial can has been kicked down the road since the late 1990s, and that delay has caused sewage malfunctions in Connoquenessing Township.

“Over time, the township has not taken necessary steps addressing lot malfunction,” Linton said. “There have been surveys done over the years where it showed there was raw discharge into streets and streams.”