Township welcomes sewage project grant funds
MARION TWP — The $4.2 million in grant funds the county awarded to revamp the township’s aging sewage system will change the direction of Boyers and the lives of people who live there, according to township board of supervisors chairman Jason McBride.
McBride said the money, which will excavate project sites, install grinder pumps and construct a new sewer plant, is expected to improve quality of life and commerce around Boyers and other municipalities in Marion Township, McBride said.
“We really feel confident now that, if elderly folks choose to relocate, they’ll have a better opportunity to sell their home,” McBride said.
“Obviously, we live in a wetland and ... it’s very hard to get a septic,” he said, referring to a septic tank. “This should give a real positive impact to the community.”
The current, antiquated sewage system Marion inherited came under the township’s management through a privately owned co-op named Boyers Water and Sewage Corporation, McBride said. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection ultimately court-ordered the township to take over that system in 2014, since the co-op could not afford to maintain it, he said.
“Obviously, we deal with the health and safety concerns,” McBride said. “Our sewage system has been outdated for many years. ... We ultimately want to get things on the right track.”
The county board of commissioners earlier this month announced the grant funding, which was channeled to the township through a 2020 Community Development Block Grant, on Jan. 18. The block grants form part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, passed by Congress that same year.
“I just want to throw a real thankful shoutout to the county,” he added. “They’ve done a tremendous job helping us get funding ... Michele Burd, our secretary, who led the charge. It's just been a real blessing that way.”
Without the help of Burd and the commissioners, they could not have managed the developing project, McBride said.
The county told the township it is planning the first preconstruction meetings for the Marion Township sewer project in February or March, McBride said. Developers plan to break ground on the project as soon as the weather permits, he said.
The United States Steel Corporation installed the original sewage system to serve the population of Boyers during the 1950s and 1960s, when most everyone in the town either worked at an underground mine operated by the company or were the families of those laborers, McBride said. Boyers Water and Sewage Corporation couldn’t apply for grant funding after it took over, which prevented the corporation from performing adequate upgrades.
McBride believes the last permit inspection the system received, prior to around 2012, occurred sometime during the 1970s, he said.
