Jan 27, 2015 3 min read

FREDERICKTOWN – A beleaguered Mon Valley water authority about to be fined by the state for past violations will need to make costly improvements to its water treatment plant or purchase water elsewhere to deal with problem chemicals that show up in its supply, environmental regulators said.

The solution to removing trihalomethanes from Tri-County Joint Municipal Water Authority’s supply could result in it “interconnecting with a neighboring water supplier,” said John Poister, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection in Pittsburgh.

“They need to find a way to satisfy us on our end without going bankrupt,” Poister said Tuesday.

While the plant is currently in compliance with the DEP, the problem needs to be addressed because the chemicals, which result when bromides in the river come in contact with chlorine, are potentially carcinogenic, he said.

The DEP is in discussions with Tri-County about the problem at a time when the department is still determining the amount it will fine the authority after it failed to file discharge records and modification permits for four years. The authority also fired its staff in March as the DEP launched that investigation.

The authority later ordered a special audit of its business office, the results of which have yet to be made public.

The DEP has not estimated a price for the improvements that need to be made to the water treatment plant, Poister said. The authority was required to draft a corrective action plan to meet clean water laws, he said.

“It would be expensive,” he said. “The current plant may be beyond fixing.”

East Bethlehem Township, which is among four municipalities that form the authority, is stalling any action on a request from the authority to extend its life from 2034 to 2050 to increase its borrowing power, East Beth commissioner Paul Battaglini said.

East Bethlehem held a special meeting Monday to consider the future of the authority without making any decisions regarding its fate.

“We’re holding them back,” Battaglini said.

He estimated the authority’s debt at $6.5 million, and said the East Beth board is hesitant about signing anything involving the water plant until the results of the special audit are known.

“We’re just not happy with the answers we are getting,” Battaglini said.

The other member communities in the authority are Luzerne Township in Fayette County and Centerville and Beallsville boroughs in Washington County. The plant serves about 3,500 customers.

The authority’s new director, Dave Bojtos, said the direction taken will depend on the authority board, adding that the plant was in compliance with the DEP during in the last quarterly report.

He referred comment to the authority’s solicitor, Melinda Dellarose, who didn’t return a message Tuesday.