Letter to the Editor: Lower Mac BOC May Vote on Sewer Plan Tonight

The construction of a new sewer pipe along Mertztown Road and through the village of Brookdale in Lower Macungie Township is part of the township plan to provide public sewer service to the proposed 600 acres Jaindl land development project.

Typically, when a new sewer line is installed, all property owners along the line are required to connect to it.

The township Board of Commissioners plans to vote to approve the new sewer plan at its meeting at 7 p.m. today at the township building on Brookside Road.

But the plan to expand the public sewer area to the Jaindl project and build the new pipe does not seem to satisfy the state requirements for planning such sewer system upgrades. The township plan does not contain the detailed studies and analysis required by the state Sewage Facilities Act 537.

Friends for the Protection of Lower Macungie Township, which is fighting the Jaindl development, believes the state Department of Environmental Protection will reject the  plan and require the township to include more detailed analysis of the impact of the public sewer expansion on the community and the environment.

The plan to expand the sewer district and build the pipeline is barely mentioned in the primary Supplement Plan the commissioners will vote on. The Supplement will require mandatory pumping of septic tanks for all property owners who have on-lot sewage systems in order to prolong the life of the systems.

Friends objects to the fact that the public sewer area expansion and construction of the new sewer pipe is hidden inside the Supplement, which is focused on the on-lot pumping plan.

The township website refers to a public hearing on the Supplement Plan. But the commissioners’ meeting agenda has no mention of a public hearing.

This seems to be just another example of the township trying to hide important matters from the public.

Scott Bieber

Friends for the Protection of Lower Macungie Township