Knox Township Residents Not Happy But Resigned to Sewage Treatment Plant

LUCINDA, Pa. (EYT) – The residents of Knox Township may not be happy about a sewage treatment plant being built where they live, but they are coming to the realization that there’s not anything they can do about it.

More than a dozen residents packed the cramped office, and some stood in the adjacent garage, to hear the township Municipal Authority talk about what will happen in the future.

It was quite the departure from the last two meetings, which featured hot tempers, insults, and shouting. Also, two authority members, Rick Best and George Carroll, resigned from it at the June meeting.

While the mood was still tense, the air of civility was apparent.

The newest authority members, Ben Ochs and Pat Lauer, spoke at length about their hopes for the new sewage treatment facility, which is to be built in the southern section of Lawn Drive.

“I’ll do my damnedest to keep infiltration out of the system. When that happens, that’s when you have real problems, and it never ends,” Ochs said.

Township secretary Jacqui Blose tried to explain some of the misconceptions that have cropped up over the last several months.

“There were town hall meetings advertised and held, and no one came,” Blose said. “This has been a long, protracted process; it didn’t just start recently.”

“When the township approved the Act 537 Plan, it was up to the Authority to enact it. The Authority can’t back on the Plan once it’s been approved.”

Marty English, of the EADS Group, the engineering firm working with the township, attended the meeting in place of Kyle Fritz, who was on vacation. English explained that not all businesses would have to be on the system.

“Those that have toilets would have to tap in,” English said.

One resident asked about the church, social halls, or schools connecting. Ochs said they would use their best judgment.

Linda Steiner-Mander, who lives on Lawn Drive, is not too happy that her property will be directly affected.

“My property is the sitting duck,” Steiner-Mander said. “I’m hearing about the lines and ditches that will have to be dug on my property for them.”

“I’ve been to the last six or seven meetings, and they are revealing a little more at a time.”

“For me, my biggest issue is that this is where I grew up. My father had the foresight to make sure the property had proper sewage and water, so this is partly why this is so upsetting.”

“I was initially told it would be located behind me, but now this.”