Vernon MUA sewer plan to be revised

VERNON — The December 2015 resolution that granted the Vernon Township Municipal Utilities Authority to apply for an increase in the sewer service area is slated to be replaced with a revised version of the original resolution.

The plan to increase the sewer service area along Route 94 and into McAfee was met with public opposition and has been under scrutiny by the new Township Council. While rescinding the resolution was proposed, the council elected to revise the current legislation in favor of stricter guidelines and council updates.

“Resolution 15-190 needs to be revised,” Councilwoman Jean Murphy said. “Revise the resolution with factual information. I’d like to see a little more specificity with more details and more numbers.”

The original resolution came under fire for what was called, “misinformation” about the potential for negatively affecting the environment due to a 54 percent septic failure rate. Those rates have been disputed by property owners and council members.

The MUA was accused of using environmental concerns in an attempt to leverage them to gain approval for expanding the area, which would increase their revenue. The MUA is currently facing a significant financial shortfall and will in the near future have to increase sewer rates to compensate if no action is taken, officials said.

Should the proposed expansion take place, residents in those areas would be required to hook up to the sewer system, at an estimated construction cost of $10,000 to $15,000.

“I just put in a new septic,” resident Madeline Cummings said. “You need to do research. You need to let a homeowner say yay or nay.”

As it stands, a new resolution addressing the financial impact, further environmental information and bi-monthly reporting to the Council by the MUA is set to be drafted and placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting.