(3/4) The Hamiltonban Township Board of Supervisors and the township Municipal Authority approved borrowing $496,500 at the supervisors March 4 meeting to construct a pumping station.

The pumping station has to be constructed in order to transport wastewater to a Franklin Township wastewater treatment plant as Hamiltonban turns over the Orrtanna treatment facility (pumping station and infrastructure) to its impending new owners.

Township Solicitor Matthew Battersby said the loan would be used to purchase equipment needed to complete the pumping station, and would be fully refundable through the Commonwealth Financing Authority as a result of an approved H2O grant.

The money must essentially be spent before June to qualify for reimbursement.

The township’s Orrtanna wastewater treatment plant is being acquired by the Hershey-based Pennsylvania American Water Company, the business that also acquired the Franklin Township facility.

The township supervisors voted unanimously at their August 6 meeting last year to sign a proposed state order to address the problematic Orrtanna treatment plant.

The treatment facility came under fire from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2010, the state agency claiming that the plant was deficient and was too old, and that the facility had to be upgraded to current standards.

As the township reviewed its options after being contacted by DEP in 2010, Hamiltonban was approached by Franklin Township, also seeking to dispose of their wastewater facility, to partner in the sale of both township plants, and to allow Hamiltonban to send its wastewater to a proposed new Franklin Township treatment plant.

The board then decided to dispose of the facility rather than invest in an upgrade and partner with Franklin to attempt to find a buyer for the facility.

Hamiltonban subsequently entered into an agreement with the DEP to dismantle the existing wastewater treatment plant, close existing detention ponds, and end the spraying of wastewater, as well as to build a pumping station and transmission lines to connect to a facility in Franklin Township.

Ultimately, an offer was obtained from the Pennsylvania America Water Company to pay Hamiltonban more than $339,000 for the existing facility and its associated infrastructure. The water company will continue to manage the processing of wastewater generated in Hamiltonban Township at their Franklin Township facility.