CLEARFIELD – Members of the Clearfield Municipal Authority board and its engineer once again addressed questions concerning the rate increase of $84 per quarter on customer bills.
Dan Luzier said he saw where his bill went up by $84 and asked about the rate, stating he thought it was excessive. CMA Interim Manager John Williams said the charge is to pay for the new sewer plant.
The authority needs to repay a debt service to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure and Investment Authority, and it cannot base it on a variable rate, such as billing by usage. Instead, PENNVEST requires it to be based upon a set rate, he explained.
Board members looked at the numbers and held discussions and determined that to meet the payment requirements they would have to raise the base rate by $28 per month, or $84 per quarter.
Board member Chris Stott added, “This isn’t anything new, we’ve been working on this for years.”
Additionally, the authority has to have money ready before the first payments need to be made. Payments will include bi-annual payments on the interest and annual payments on the principal.
The board members agreed it is high, but they were under mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection.
Engineer Jim Balliet of Gwin, Dobson & Foreman Inc. explained that CMA used to purchase nutrient credits on the market and then the new rules went into effect. However, the cost of those credits has skyrocketed because demand now outweighs supply.
As long as CMA is building the new wastewater treatment plant, it doesn’t have to purchase credits, and it is possible that when the plant is up and running it may be able to sell credits eventually.
Chairman Russ Triponey added that no one on the board is happy. The CMA is a non-profit entity and the costs to operate are reflected in the rates. “All we do is take in money to pay our bills,” he said.
Additionally, DEP has told CMA that it will need to shut down and rebuild Montgomery Dam, which is another $10 million, but the CMA board does not know when that will take place.
Under his report, Williams said he spoke with Bill Armstrong at Rep. Tommy Sankey’s office, and Armstrong suggested the CMA get on the list for a company called RCAP Solutions to help CMA find grant money for the water system and mapping of the system.
Williams said it might take a few years and Triponey added that the money would be used to extend the waterlines to portions of the Glen Richey area.
Also, training is under way on the new equipment at the new treatment plant. Balliet reported that they are moving forward to a phase one start up at the end of the year and construction is progressing well.
The contract to replace the waterline to the facility was awarded to Advanced Contracting. The line will go under Clearfield Creek. Balliet said they anticipate beginning construction at the end of July or in early August.
In regards to the new regulations regarding aluminum content, Balliet said DEP verbally approved a six-month extension to find out if the authority can reduce the levels in discharge through operational changes.
Also, CMA will need to begin sampling for cryptosporidium at both water treatment plants and will need to do one sample per month for two years.
Balliet said the Moose Creek plant is OK because it uses membrane and UV filtering, but Montgomery uses a more traditional filtering system.
The cost will be $23,000 for 48 samples, the cheapest cost Balliet could find from the labs that do the testing.
CMA also welcomed new board member John Naddeo, who was appointed treasurer and will also serve on the personnel committee.
An executive session for personnel was called for at the end of the meeting with no action to be taken. Several employees attended the meeting and waited at the end for information.