WILKES-BARRE  - The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, $25,000 as part of an agreement to upgrade the municipality’s sewage treatment plant and resolve past discharge and operational violations.

“This penalty and agreement are an important step forward to correct the township’s water quality violations that impacted Tobyhanna Creek,” said Northeast Regional Director Michael Bedrin.  “We have worked for several years to bring the township into compliance and this agreement and penalty reflect those efforts.”

DEP documented discharge violations for fecal coliform, total suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus from the township’s wastewater treatment plant. The 1999 discharges harmed Tobyhanna Creek, a high quality cold water fishery.

Before that, discharge violations were noted sporadically at the plant. 

The township’s treatment plant was found to be hydraulically overloaded and DEP imposed a prohibition on new connections until the plant was upgraded and stormwater infiltration addressed.  

In addition, biologists from DEP’s Northeast Regional Office conducted stream surveys in June 2005 and April 2007 that documented water quality impacts to Tobyhanna Creek.

The department held enforcement conferences with township officials in January 2004, July 2005 and June 2007 to discuss the inspection and the stream survey findings.

“This agreement will improve water quality in Tobyhanna Creek and its watershed as a result of improvements we are requiring the township to implement,” said Bedrin.

The township must upgrade its sewage treatment plant and submit and implement a plan to reduce stormwater infiltration to its sewer lines.  The township has recently completed the first phase of construction of a new 52,000-gallon-per-day sewage treatment plant, which must be completed by Dec. 31.

The township must also conduct two stream surveys using a third party contractor agreeable to DEP to continue assessing the stream’s water quality.

The first stream survey must be conducted between Oct. 1 and April 30.  The second stream survey must be conducted between Oct. 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011.