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Canonsburg approves independent sewer authority

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CANONSBURG – Canonsburg Borough Council on Monday voted to formally establish an operating sewer authority independent of both Canonsburg and Houston boroughs by Jan. 1.

Council unanimously approved the motion, which means Canonsburg-Houston Joint Authority will no longer be a lease authority and the plant workers will be directly employed by the authority instead of the borough of Canonsburg.

Council President John Bevec said Houston Borough is expected to approve the formal agreement, which addresses changes to the authority’s structure and extends the life of the authority for 35 years, at its council meeting today.

“We’re going to be an operating authority, and the only role of council here and in Houston will be to appoint board members,” Bevec said. “They’ll be a completely independent authority to have employees, enter into land leases and do upgrades.

“Everything will be done by them and we’ll have no impact, other than to appoint board members.”

Canonsburg appoints four board members, while Houston appoints one.

The authority then can tackle the long-overdue upgrades necessary at the sewage treatment plant.

Last May, council approved a memorandum of understanding to make the authority independent, and at the same time agreed to extend its life to allow it to borrow money. The authority’s authorization was set to expire in 2019.

Among its tasks will be obtaining a bond to pay for the $25 million required for the first phase of plant upgrades that have been mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Bevec said bond counsel will review options for financing the sewage treatment plant once the authority is in place, which he estimates will take between 30 and 60 days.

In other business Monday, council hired Brian DaPra as a full-time police officer and suspended police officer Jason Saieva for one day. Council did not comment on the suspension.

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