The Bradford Sanitary Authority is making progress on delinquent accounts.
Executive Director Steve Disney said an additional five commercial rental properties have had municipal liens placed on them by both the Sanitary and Water authorities.
“Each one of these properties has exceeded $3,000 in delinquencies,” he said. The total for water bill delinquencies is $11,785, for sanitary sewer bills, $13,720, and for stormwater bills, $1,221.
In December, Disney explained that a demand letter had been sent the prior month to the owners of BCRR Holdings, which operates Kiwanis Courts, regarding overdue bills. There has been no response. The matter was turned over to a law firm for further action.
At Tuesday’s meeting, he said law firm Salzmann Hughes is proceeding against the company.
Also at the meeting, Disney explained the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit has been received from the Pennsylvania Department of Protection, extending final limits through April 30, 2023.
However, the issues with the DEP reducing the limits on several pollutants have not been resolved. A meeting is scheduled for today with the DEP to discuss changes in regulations for the NPDES permit.
“It appears that in order to meet the new 2023 NPDES limits, the CAS side treatment train would have to be derated to the final settling tanks capacity or additional facilities would need to be constructed,” Disney said.
In other business, Disney explained there is some help available to local residents who are having a hard time paying their water and sewer bills. Both the Water and Sanitary authorities have signed up to participate in the federally funded Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).
The amount of the LIHWAP grant will be based on the amount of the residential customer’s arrearage with the residential water or waste water services provider, up to $2,500 per drinking water and up to $2,500 per waste water services per household.
Residential customers with Bradford Water and Sanitary Authority’s needing assistance with arrearage are encouraged to reach out to the McKean County Assistance Office at 814-362-4671 for more information about this program including detailed information, eligibility requirements and application instructions. Customers can also contact the Water/Sanitary Office directly at 814-584-3212 or visit the LIHWAP webpage at www.dhs.pa.gov/waterhelp.
Disney also announced that with the assistance of Bob Esch and Brad Mangel, Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, and Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, are scheduled to visit both Sanitary Waste Water and Drinking Water Treatment Plants on April 8th.
Disney also explained the monthly flushing & cleaning was conducted in the sanitary sewer system. “An additional assessment of 570 lineal feet has been conducted in the sanitary sewer system since the December Board meeting. To date 39,632 feet of sanitary sewer mains have been cleaned, assessed and evaluated, including 125 sanitary manholes,” he said.
Assessments continue in the stormwater system as well. Disney said the crew is finalizing and prioritizing repairs that will be needed in stormwater subsystem 10.
“Since the December board meeting an additional 6,208 lineal feet have been cleaned, assessed and evaluated, this brings the total to date of 18,583 lineal feet, including 144 storm water catch basins and 38 manholes,” he said. “In addition to the buried manholes that were uncovered to allow access for cleaning and full assessment, we added a new catch basin for access to the system on West Corydon Street.”
