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By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The Bradford Sanitary Authority has decided to hire a consultant to help their engineers get through the upgrade to the sewage treatment plant. Authority member Lee Ann Doynow updated Bradford City Council during its regular meeting Tuesday night. She said the board looked at several consultants after council expressed concerns about the project. They decided to go with Tighe & Bond of Massachusetts because, Doynow said, they have the most experience with the broadest base. According to the company’s website, Tighe & Bond “has a long history of designing efficient, cost-effective wastewater collection and treatment systems to achieve compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Projects range from small industrial pretreatment systems to large regional treatment facilities. Designs may include features to conserve and/or reuse water, facilitate advanced nutrient removal or incorporate innovative residuals management processes wh...

The Bradford Sanitary Authority has been awarded a state grant and a low-interest loan totaling more than $18.7 million to complete the second phase of upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant, according to Senator Joe Scarnati. Scarnati said the loan of $15.59 million and grant of $3.14 million were awarded through the state’s PENNVEST Program and announced today. He said the funding is vital to protecting the environment, providing clean water to area residents and encouraging economic development. “This funding is crucial to protecting our local water supplies and public health and ensuring that our streams are not polluted,” Scarnati said. “Because we will have new, upgraded water and sewer infrastructure, we can promote growth in our area, create new jobs and encourage economic development.” New construction projects have been all but stymied because of DEP restrictions on EDUs (equivalent dwelling units) due to wet weather overloading of the plant as well as discharges of pa...

UPDATE Bradford Sanitary Authority will receive a PENNVEST $15,598,357 loan and a $3,146,643 grant to upgrade and expand its sewage treatment plant in order to eliminate wet weather overloading of the plant and discharges of partially treated sewage into Tunungwant Creek. By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The Bradford Sanitary Authority and Bradford City Council can agree on one thing: Whatever is going to be done about upgrading the wastewater treatment plant has to be done as soon as possible. The two groups held a work session Tuesday to discuss plans for the plant. Bradford Township supervisor Gayle Bauer and Foster Township supervisor John Sullivan also attended. At issue is the best way to upgrade the plant, at the lowest cost. Another issue is which engineering firm would be best for the job. Buchart Horn first brought up the new BioMag technology for the plant, which would save money. Gannett Fleming has been the Sanitary Authority’s engineer for years. Buchart Horn has ...

A bigger sewage treatment plant won’t solve the problems with the area sewage system. Engineer Andy Jantzer told Bradford City Council during a work session that no matter how big the plant is, it can’t fix the inflow and infiltration problems. “If you expand the plant you’re still going to have system overflows unless you do more with the system,” Jantzer said. “It’s not just a plant issue. It’s a system issue.” “What can you do? You either expand your system from the plant up and make everything bigger, or you try to reduce your (problems) in the system.” The cost of expanding the plant is estimated at $23 million. The cost of repairing the system is estimated at $22 million. Mayor Tom Riel said $45 million is too much for area ratepayers to handle. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947