SUMMIT TWP — The township’s solicitor, Michael Gallagher, told supervisors Wednesday evening, April 17, that there could be a ruling on the township’s appeal of the sale of Butler Area Sewer Authority in May.

Summit Township and Center Township appealed the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s approval of the sale of BASA to Pennsylvania American Water in December. The two townships share a solicitor in the Gallagher Law Group.

Supervisors have discussed the appeal in executive sessions with Gallagher a few times over the past four months, but there has been no major update in the appeal process, Gallagher said.

“We’re still waiting on the Commonwealth Court to make a decision,” Gallagher said. “It could be May, it could be the end of this month, could be June.”

Butler and Butler Township incorporated the Butler Area Sewer Authority and were the original investors in the wastewater system, but BASA also has customers in Center Township and East Butler borough, plus portions of Connoquenessing, Oakland, Summit and Penn townships. Only Butler and Butler Township will see money from the sale, however, and Summit and Center townships are appealing the sale because of the expected increase in rates to customers.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Summit supervisors voted to enter another intergovernmental agreement with Jefferson Township, which is soon having the lines repainted on Bonniebrook Road. The company painting the lines within Jefferson Township also will paint the lines into Summit Township, and Jefferson Township will bill Summit once the work is done, according to Summit treasurer Roxann Stickney.

Summit Township supervisors previously entered an agreement with Jefferson Township when Jefferson was having its portion of Bonniebrook Road fixed, so Wednesday’s agreement was in tandem with the previous road work.