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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Ruth Myers |
State Rep. Ted Harhai |
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Harhai: Rostraver Township to receive $11 million for sewers
HARRISBURG, July 17 – State Rep. Ted Harhai, D-Westmoreland/Fayette, announced that Rostraver Township will receive a total of $11 million in grants and low-interest loans for the second consecutive year from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority to repair the sewage collection system for the Rehoboth Valley project.
Harhai said Pennvest will provide the township with a $1.6 million grant and a $9.4 million loan for a term of 30 years at an interest rate of 1 percent.
The villages of Pricedale and Lynnwood are currently served by wildcat sewers, which collect wastewater but do not include treatment facilities. The sewers release the raw sewage into nearby waterways, and in this case sewage is discharged into Speers Run. In order to stop that discharge, the Pennvest funding will be used to install 92,000 feet of collection and interceptor sewers; 15,000 feet of force main used to transfer wastewater to a higher location; and two pump stations to transport the sewage.
“Pumping raw sewage into Speers Run raises obvious public health and environmental issues, which have been a concern for years, particularly in the Pricedale area. This funding will have an enormous impact on Rostraver as the township works toward continuing to improve its sewage project, and the benefits will be felt for many years.” Harhai said, adding that the $11 million total award is the largest amount of money that Pennvest is allocating this year.
“I’d like to thank Representative Camille ‘Bud’ George for his role in helping me to obtain funds for Rostraver,” he said. “Only 10 authorities received funding from Pennvest, and many more were turned away. His assistance helped us obtain a great deal of support for the second year in a row.”
This is the second year in a row that the Rostraver Township sewage has received $11 million in a grant/loan package through Harhai. Harhai also thanked the Rostraver Township Board of Commissioners and the Rostraver Sewage Authority for providing the direction on this project.
“The board and the sewage authority have done a very commendable job to move the project forward as smoothly as possible,” he said.
Harhai said the township will continue to look for federal funding to help pay for the project, which will cost more than $30 million.
Pennvest was created by the General Assembly in 1988 under the late Gov. Robert Casey. It offers low-cost loans and grants to communities throughout Pennsylvania to fund sewer, stormwater and drinking water maintenance and improvement projects. To learn more about Pennvest, visit www.pennvest.state.pa.us.
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