PETROLIA — At a special meeting Tuesday, April 23, the Petroleum Valley Regional Water Authority approved a resolution to accept a county grant and to borrow money to develop its own water source.

Officials said buying a water source and eventually building a water treatment plant are being pursued due to a rate increase and ongoing issues with the quality of water from its current provider.

Authority board members unanimously voted to accept $750,000 from the county and borrow up to $300,000 from NexTier Bank to buy the #4 mine at Cove Run, an inactive limestone mine owned by Brady’s Bend Underground Storage in East Brady.

Board chairman Jeff Shumaker said the resolution was needed for the county commissioners to approve the grant at their meeting Wednesday. The grant is coming from COVID Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, he said.

The $750,000 will cover 90% of the purchase price and the loan will cover the balance, he said.

The longer-term goal is for the authority to build its own treatment plant in two years to provide water to its 1,200 customers from its own water source and control pricing, he said. The authority serves customers in eight communities around Petrolia.

“We want to be independent,” Shumaker said.

He said the authority currently buys water from East Brady borough.

The borough operates it’s own water and sewage systems.

The Petroleum authority has been trying to negotiate a short-term contract with East Brady to replace the last contract, which has expired, but East Brady is insisting on a 50-year contract, Shumaker said.

Nicholas Kerr, Petroleum authority manager, said East Brady had been charging the authority $3.25 for every 1,000 gallons of water, and the authority buys about 191,000 gallons a month.

On April 4, East Brady informed the authority that it will begin charging customers without contracts $7.15 per 1,000 gallons and customers with contracts $3.95, he said.

Until the water and sewer facility comes to fruition, the authority will continue to negotiate the water price with East Brady, Kerr said.

Shumaker said it will take until the end of the year to complete testing of the Cove Run water.

The authority plans to seek a low-interest loan or grant from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVEST) to build a water treatment plant, he said.

Kerr said the authority is experiencing issues with the acidity of the water from East Brady, and the authority does not have the needed state permit to treat the water.