Center supervisors want say in sale of sewer authority
CENTER TWP — After going months without receiving any more information about the potential sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania-American Water Company, supervisors voted Wednesday to have the township solicitor write a letter to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission objecting the sale.
The supervisors oppose the sale and because the municipality has no representation on the BASA board, administrators do not have much, if any, information about the terms or the progress of negotiations. Supervisor Chairman Bob Sloan said township officials have gotten no information about the sale.
Earlier this year, Butler City Council and Butler Township Commissioners each approved a confidentiality agreement between one another and Pennsylvania-American Water regarding talks of the potential sale. Of the five members of the BASA board, three represent Butler and two represent Butler Township.
BASA serves nearly 15,000 customers in 32.5 square miles, which includes the Butler, Butler Township, Center Township, East Butler, parts of Connoquenessing, Summit and Oakland townships and a small portion of Penn Township.
Supervisor Don Pringle called BASA and Pennsylvania American a “restrictive monopoly” that inhibits most residents of Center Township from obtaining water elsewhere. He said writing to the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission may help stop the sale, since the township has no say on the BASA board.
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