Spillway Project Cost Worries Peters Twp Council

Peters Township Council intends to continue their permit process for a spillway project that could cost millions. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection orders the township to redesign Peters Lake dam spillway with new capacity standards. The spillway parameters must now hold 22 inches of rainfall within two hours in order to discharge excess water. However, township manager Paul Lauer believes the spillway already has “proven to be adequate.” “The largest storm that we have record of is Hurricane Ivan, and the spillway had lots of additional capacity,” says Lauer. Council hired Rizzo International Inc. to determine reconstruction designs in Apr. 2021, but these solutions would cost an estimated $4.5-5 million, according to their draft report. Council, shocked by the expenses, discussed getting a permit from DEP and finding out the actual project cost at Monday evening’s council meeting. Lauer says council should then determine whether to appeal or to seek adequate funding for the project. “We have to find out the cost of the project and then we’ll find out if that’s something appropriate to spend township funds on or whether we’re going to seek assistance from elsewhere- as of right now I haven’t identified any place where there’s money for this kind of project,” Lauer says. Council will continue the permit process, but Lauer says there won’t be any “immediate permit issue for the dam” since the process takes a long time.