The Salem Supervisors approved the Maintenance Agreement Resolution for the sewer plant at the new elementary school.

Western Wayne School District is planning to build a “Living Machine” sewer system at the school which is expected to house up to 900 students, but will open around 725 students in 2009.

The system uses bacteria in three sets of tanks to process the wastewater. The wastewater is then subjected to ultraviolet light and is either reused or used as irrigation on the athletic fields at the school.

This particular system is new to Pennsylvania and the Department of Environmental Protection is still reviewing the plans for the system. The Resolution affects only the maintenance agreement on the system.

The Board was concerned when the plans were first presented in April, that the agreement was too short, with monies being set aside for repairs for only 18 months after it begins operation.

During the May 6 meeting, Solicitor Jeffrey Treat and Enforcement Officer George Martin noted the agreement met and even exceeded the standards of the Township’s Ordinance.

The system is designed to run with very few moving parts and has redundant pumps to avoid shutting down if something were to break.

“It’s not like a car engine and going to blow up,” Martin said. He explained that if it doesn’t meet the DEP standards for the discharge water, the wastewater is simply recycled through the system.

“We can’t go stricter, unless you have a good reason,” Treat said.

Supervisor Dennis Chapman said, “If this was a developer, I’d be worried, but they (school system) aren’t going anywhere.”

Martin pointed out DEP will still be monitoring the site and could set a plan to correct any problems found with the wastewater discharged from the plant. He pointed to problems with levels in water being discharged from a private development’s sewer plant and DEP’s requirement for the development to create a corrective action plan for that sewer plant.

Chapman noted it didn’t matter what the Board would like to do, the Ordinance sets certain standards and the Township has to follow the Ordinance. “We can argue about it all night, but we can’t go over the Ordinance,” he said.

In other business, the Supervisors approved buying a truck from Paradise Township. It is a 2000 model year with 19,000 miles on it. Chapman said it was also larger than the truck it was replacing in Salem’s fleet. It will require the operator to have a CDL license.

The truck costs $33,000 and includes a stainless steel spreader and a snowplow.

Supervisors said they will sell the Township’s 2000 F450 Ford with between 50,000 and 60,000 miles on it. They said they will research prices on the truck before advertising for bids.

Salem Township Supervisors meet 6:30 pm, the second Tuesday of each month at the Township Building in Hamlin.