By Dawn Fallik
The borough of Kennet Square will pay a $94,837 fine and upgrade its
sewage treatment plant as part of a consent decree with environmental
groups and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The
borough, which blamed some of the problems on overly polluted
mushroom-production waste coming to the water treatment plant, will
also release monthly reports on the plant’s progress, according to
Lyman Welch, main counsel for the Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law
Center. The center represented PennPIRG, PennEnvironment, and the
Delaware Nature Society in the lawsuit.
The
citizen groups began fighting the plant in 1998 after pollution
discharges were revealed to be higher than permitted, and the DEP filed
a lawsuit in 2002 after upgrades failed to stop sewage discharges into
the west branch of the Red Clay Creek.
“The groups have been able to force a treatment plant that’s had problems to clean up its act,” Welch said.
Steven Miano, a lawyer for the borough, said everyone was pleased with the decision, which was released Monday.
“The
borough believes that the settlement is in the best interest of the
citizens and the environment,” he said. “We’re happy with it.”
Many
of the ordered upgrades have already been completed, he said, and the
borough will continue to work with mushroom processors to oversee
discharges to the plant.
