The Connoquenessing Township Sewer Authority may have an updated public sewage plan for community review in September, according to a letter from the authority’s solicitor.

Connoquenessing received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection dated June 2 saying the township was in violation of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, and had 15 days to give a reason why.

Act 537 requires municipalities to have a plan in place that addresses current and future sewage needs of the area. The DEP’s letter said the township’s failure to implement public sewage has led to the pollution of public waters, and is a statutory nuisance.

Andrew Menchyk, solicitor for the township, said Monday, June 26, that the township responded to the DEP within the time frame.

The letter from James McGraw, attorney for the sewer authority, said the authority’s new engineer, Gibson-Thomas Engineering, has developed a new project scope for the township sewage plan. A previous plan would have run more than $51 million, which McGraw said could not be implemented in the township because of the cost.

“We have targeted September 2023 for submission of a viable, affordable project scope to the (Connoquenessing Township Sewer Authority) — one that the Connoquenessing Township residents can afford,” McGraw said.

According to the letter, engineers with Gibson-Thomas are looking at the possibility of using existing sewage package plants, which also may be used to serve residents along the Route 68 corridor.

The DEP approved the township’s sewage plan in March 2019, which said construction could begin on a selected sewer design by August 2022. Since then, the sewer authority has reevaluated the plan, and is looking at other options that would be more financially feasible.

Once a new design is finalized, the sewer authority will recommend approval to the township supervisors, who would then implement the plan.

Meetings of the supervisors and the sewer authority have been widely attended by township residents over the past several years, with many people saying the creation of a sewage system is not financially feasible or too invasive.

McGraw said the sewer authority plans to submit a new sewage plan to the DEP by March 2024.

Menchyk also said the supervisors are on their way to creating a public sewage system in the township.

“It is their intent to provide a 30-year sewage plan,” Menchyk said.