Bay plan will exact heavy cost

ALTOONA, Pa. - As a 2010 deadline looms to upgrade sewage facilities, Altoona-area communities are discovering that a multistate agreement to clean up the Chesapeake Bay could cost them millions of tax dollars.

About three dozen counties or parts of counties in central Pennsylvania are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and are obligated by the deal signed in 2000 to cut nutrients dumped into the nation's largest estuary.

As local officials study the requirements and look over options for upgrading their sewage plants, they are realizing compliance will cost millions of dollars, forcing them to significantly increase costs for customers.

The state has given local governments until this summer to present detailed plans for upgrading the treatment plants, including financing plans, construction schedules, and technology and environmental reviews, said Ray Meyers, engineering consultant for Huntingdon and Tyrone Boroughs.

John Montgomery, supervisor of the Bedford Borough Municipal Authority, said his facilities' plan was revised six years ago, but he still doesn't know who is supposed to fund the upgrade.

"We want to know who's paying for it; that is our primary concern," he said.

George Boloski, wastewater treatment supervisor for the Altoona City Authority, said the planning stage for the upgrade is under way, but that he also doesn't know where the money will come from.

Huntingdon Borough is reviewing eight upgrade possibilities that could cost anywhere from $5.5 million to $29 million - resulting in an estimated cost increase to customers of $15 to $30 per month.

Under the Chesapeake Bay agreement, 63 sewage facilities in Pennsylvania must have upgrades by September 2010. By 2012, all the wastewater treatment plants that fall under the deal must have their upgrades completed.