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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mark A. Longietti
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Longietti, Robbins announce $350,000 grant for Hermitage Municipal Authority
HARRISBURG, Dec. 23 – State Rep. Mark Longietti and Sen. Robert Robbins announced today that the Hermitage Municipal Authority will receive a $350,000 PA Green Energy Works! Biogas Projects grant.
The authority will apply the grant toward the cost of expanding the capacity of the Bobby Run Water pollution control plant to 7.7 million gallons per day. The project also includes upgrades that will allow the plant to accept biodegradable waste from restaurants and grocery stores, including grease trap waste.
The Green Energy Works! Funding, which supports biogas projects that generate power and thermal energy, will enable the authority to apply a process to harness methane gas created during the waste disposal process at its Bobby Run water pollution control plant. Through temperature-phased anaerobic digestion, methane gas will be harnessed to produce electrical power for resale.
"This is truly a green project," said Longietti, D-Mercer. "The expansion will enable the treatment plant to meet the needs of the community and bring it into compliance with state requirements. In addition, other benefits of this project include waste reduction to landfills and, of course, electrical power generation for resale."
"Currently Hermitage is under a consent order to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant," said Robbins, R-Mercer/Butler/Crawford/Lawrence. "This project will enable the authority to meet that obligation and install the necessary equipment to harness gas to produce electricity. Based on the authority’s engineering studies, the process will provide enough electricity to completely operate the wastewater treatment plant and still have extra to put back into the electric grid."