The Wait Is Over: Sewickley Receives Environmental Permit

Council members shared a laugh Tuesday night over a late-in-coming permit the borough has received after it applied a half-dozen years ago.

said Sewickley recently received a five-year permit from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program that aims to control pollutants discharged in surface waters as part of the Clean Water Act.

But the strange part, Flannery said, is that he applied six years ago for the five-year permit. The borough should have received it in 2006, he said.

Because Sewickley oversees its own wastewater treatment plant operations, the permit gives the borough the necessary approval to make discharges into the Ohio River.

Council President Robert Hague said the permit process is complicated, covering extensive federal and state regulations.

For instance, Flannery said the borough must document about 10 activities, such as its street sweeper collections, to demonstrate it is taking proper preventative measures.

According to the discharge administration's web site, the EPA is working to reduce a backlog on permits, while existing permits have been "administratively continued" beyond the expiration date.

Sewickley's permit expires on Jan 31, 2016.

In other business

• Council also voted to establish an intergovernmental cooperation agreement with Glen Osborne in relation to sanitary sewage. The vote was needed to authorize the board to execute a sanitary sewage agreement at the Jan. 17 meeting with Glen Osborne and .

• Flannery reported that the 2010 municipal liens are at their lowest level in five years. The borough has 107 lien letters, compared to 112 in 2006, he said.