= SALLASC0ST “Complete Back Mountain News” a aul VOL. 82 NO. 35 Sanitation Warning Given yd kJ SS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1971 Integrated Sewer Plan Discussed at Meeting Unless all Back Mountain residents become seriously involved in pursuing proper -sanitation facilities, they could quite conceivably wind up drinking water contaminated by their own septic tanks. ThiMwas the dour warning sounded by R. Spencer Martin, chairman of the Dallas Area Municipal Authority, at a community-wide meeting held Monday night in the Dallas Junior High School auditorium to discuss the Luzerne County Planning Commission’s 50-year plan for sewage collection and disposal in the Back Mountain. Edward Heiselberg, the commission’s planning director, presided. Following a brief opening statement, he introduced LukeiChileues of Gilbert Associates Inc., a fits of consulting engineers from Reading which has been retained by Luzerne County to propose an integrated sewa disposal plan for all Back Mountain communities. The meeting Monday night was specifically directed toward the towhships of Lehman, Lake, Kingston, Dallas, Franklin and Jackson as well as Dallas and Harveys Lake Boroughs. According to Mr. Chileues, the general New College Dorm Utilizes Unique | _ Bujlding System. The new $2 million girls’ dormitory constructed by College bein ! Mishhicordia began taking shape today "as the roof and three concrete floors were raised into place on columns. Using a building system unique in this area, the pre-poured and cured concrete floor and roof slabs were separated and lifted up the steel columns by powerful hydraulic jacks. The roof, fourth and third floors were raised to the top of the columns first. Then the second floor was raised into position, and the third lowered into place. Following the addition of 17 fooyextensions on the support columns, the fourth floor and roof will be raised and all sections will be welded into place. The massive concrete floor slabs are raged by the hydraulic jacks at the rate of eight feet per hour. The entire process, including the addition of support column extensions, is expected to be completed within three weeks. Texstar Construction Corporation of San Antonio, Texas, is the firm lifting the floors. Job supervisor is Robert Sartor, also of San Antonio. The dormitory was designed by Burns and Loewe of Scranton and is being constructed by Raymon R. Hedden Co. of Dallas. The Hedden firm has utilized this meghod of construction in six previous préfrects. ‘The 102-unit girls’ dormitory scheduled to be ready for occupancy by September 1972. steel - support The unkempt triangle of land at the junction of Routes 309 and 415 has received a face-lifting, thanks to the efforts of a young would-be Eagle Scout named Brett Slocum. Brett, a second year Boy Scout in Troop 281, has been considering several difficult community service projects to fulfill requirements for his Eagle Scout award when he hit upon the idea of beautifying the ‘‘island’”’ which separates the two busy thoroughfares in Dallas Borough. Realizing that the project would involve as much planning as doing, Brett im- mediately drew up a diagram of the plot which featured a triangular bed of shrubbery in the center of a neatly manicured lawn. is) Ys is: plan must be presented to the Penn- sylvania Department of Environmental Resources and Control for approval. If approved, each municipality will then be given the opportunity to approve or disapprove its own portion of the plan. If a municipality disapproves the plan, it must submit a plan of its own. If no plan is submitted, the government can un- dertake a sewage installation program and charge the municipality with the ensuing cost. Lehman Township residents were the most vocal group in attendance, asking questions which ranged from ‘how much will it cost each family?’ to ‘“‘what was the criteria used in determining which areas need sewers?’ There was also a faction questioning whether sewers are needed at all. Answers to these questions included a statement to the effect that without allowing for federal and state funding, this program could cost the average homeowner $1,500 plus $100 to $150 per year usage charge. It was estimated that the project should take two years from the designing stage to completion. Target date for Lehman Township is tentatively scheduled from 1973 to 1975. Mr. Chileues suggested that Gilbert Associates considers confined areas with 100 or more homes as areas needing sewers. He stated that this figure was determined by both economic and health factors. ; Doug Diehl of Roy Weston Associates, the consulting firm for the Dallas Area Municipal project, offered constructive suggestions as to how pipe layout could be changed to improve efficiency and reduce cost. (continued on PAGE THREE) DALLAS, PA. SCOTT SAFFIAN Douglas Diehl Interviewed PHONE 675-5211 - No Increase in Pollution FIFTEEN CENTS Ralph Elston gently prods “Red” as the cows gather at the barn around milking time. Mr. Elston has raised cattle on his farm in Kunkle since 1923. Seen Because of Sewers by Dottie Beckham Water, land or air pollution will not be increased by Dallas Area Municipal What will eventually be the roof of College Misericordia’s new girl’s dormitory is shown in the process of being raised by powerful hydraulic jacks. The three remaining slabs—the fourth, third, and second floors respectively—are pictured at ground level. Boy Scout Plans Beautification Effort After making several inquiries of local nurserymen, Brett learned that Japanese .yews and hybrid rhododendron would be best suited for the location. Harry “Bucky” Edwards, owner of the Hunt- sville Nursery, offered to provide nine yews and six rhododendron at cost when he learned of Brett's plans. With this happy news in hand, Brett approached the Dallas Borough Council, which readily approved the young man’s plan and agreed to shoulder the expenses of the undertaking. Because the parcel of land is actually State property, Brett next contacted Lee Yeich, roadside development technician for PennDOT. Mr. Yeich came to Dallas last Thursday, looked over Brett's plans and the land in question, and gave the youngster a green light. A determined Brett Slocum appeared bright and early Monday morning armed with a rake and several trash containers to commence work on the triangle. By late afternonn, he had accumulated five full bags of trash and had cut the knee- high grass once. \ After the grass was mowed a second time Tuesday morning and the plot was marked off, the task of turning over the soil for the arrival of the shrubs began. If Brett’s plans go according to schedule, several Japanese yews and rhododen- dron will grace what is effectively the “gateway’’ to Dallas Borough by this afternoon. Authority’s waste treatment plant, Douglas Diehl, project manager for Roy Weston, environmental engineers in charge of the sewerage project, told The ‘Dallas Post in an exclusive interview, Friday. Infact, under the rules, regulations and standards developed by the Pennsylvania Environmental Resources Department and the Federal Government's Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970, the treatment plant will help to stem the tide of environmental pollution, Mr. Diehl indicated. Secondary-treatment standard required normally includes the removal of 85 percent biochemical oxygen demand, 90 percent of suspended solids and of substantially all pathogens (harmful bacteria). The Dallas Area plant is a secondary one. The project manager made clear that this plant will do slightly better than the required standard. The importance of inter-relating air, land and water protection is realized by authority members and most certainly by the environmental engineers who oversee the municipal project. Air pollution was the first point discussed by Mr. Diehl, who said there would be ‘““no air pollution: problems, no incineration.” The only thing produced and entering into the air is carbon dioxide, which is formed by the combustion and decom- position of organic substances, and is absorbed from the air by trees and other plants. Is the treatment plant itself going to smell? ‘“No’’, came back the prompt reply. “In modern plants there are no emanating odors. Perhaps if you stood very close to one of the tanks you could detect a slight musty smell, but nothing at all 100 yards away.’’ Concerning solid waste disposal, there will be. some sludge. resulting from the process and this sludge will be treated biologically. After biological treatment it will be hauled by tank trucks to selected pieces of farm land and spread on the ground. The sludge, a low-grade fer- tilizer, phosphorus and organic humus. “So many people who are concerned about the ecology will be pleased to hear about this recycling process involving the sludge,’”’ Mr. Diehl pointed out. ‘Because 3 it contains certain nutrients it will enhance the value of farm land, rather than pollute it.”’ is composed of nitrogens, The treated wastewater or effluent will 4 be discharged into Tobys Creek. The plant will in no way degrade the quality of Tobys Creek. The young engineer em- phasized that “Tobys Creek will be in better condition after the treatment plant is in use than ever before.” He added that | there has been a real health hazard in the area due to density of homes with septic tanks and the fact that the ground is so structured that it will not absorb sewage. Too much raw sewage has been emptying into Tobys Creek for too many years. With the municipal sewer system in operation this particular water pollution will be eliminated. Recently Daniel B. Drawbaugh, on director of the sewerage division water supply and in the State En- vironmental Resources Department’s Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, presented the regulatory agency’s view- point on the development, interpretation and implementation of federal and state laws concerning treatment plant design. “Comprehensive planning for wastewater management is a valuable and necessary tool to help us prevent and eliminate water pollution,” Mr. Draw- baugh declared. “These objectives also include reclamation and restoration to a clean, unpolluted condition of every polluted stream in the Commonwealth.” How does municipal treatment of wastes affect residents’ drinking water in this area? According to Mr. Diehl, it will not af- fect it at all for the worse. It should alleviate some problems for private well owners—in as much as private septic tanks will not be used where the sewer system has been installed, and therefore will not drain into private wells. (continued on PAGE THREE)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers