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Honesdale gets EPA grant to upgrade sewer system

Release Date: 6/4/2003
Contact Information: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567

Contact: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $483,900 grant to the Borough of Honesdale, Wayne County, Pa. to help pay for repairs to deteriorated sewer lines and to help prevent untreated wastewater from entering into the Lackawaxen River.

Along with repairing sewer lines, funding will also be used to replace a portion of the combined sewer system with separate sanitary and storm sewer lines, which will reduce combined sewer overflows into the Lackawaxen River, a popular stream for trout fishing.

“EPA is pleased to provide funding for these critical sewer system improvements. This investment will help improve water quality in the Lakawaxen River,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

Upgrading the system could also permit more customers to hook up to the public sewer system. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection currently has banned new sewer connections until Honesdale eliminates the overload at the sewage treatment plant.

The grant will pay for 55 percent of the estimated $924,000 project, and the borough will obtain loans from the state and/or a local bank for the balance.