PALO ALTO - The borough council on Monday night discussed the state plan to install 1,000 feet of 24-inch plastic pipe through the borough to bring a "permanent solution" to a mine water problem.
Council President John A. Deatrich Jr. said the plan was in the initial stages.
"We'll be looking as a council in the future, as we get more information, to vote on these things," Deatrich said.
If the borough is temporarily inconvenienced or if 40 years from now there may be construction, Deatrich said, he's willing to take that chance.
"You have all that water up there and if this is going to fix it, I'm for it," he said.
The discussion came after a public meeting Friday, where representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection discussed a proposed long-term solution.
The meeting included Timothy J. Connolly, an engineer from Tetra-Tech, Dallas, Luzerne County, as well as local officials, including state Sen. David Argall, R-29; state Rep. Neal P. Goodman, D-123, and representatives of the state Department of Transportation and the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority.
According to newspaper archives, DEP is considering establishment of a new line to divert the discharge on the 300 block of West Savory Street to a tributary of the Schuylkill River.
Michael C. Korb, environmental program manager for the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation office in Wilkes-Barre, said Friday that state funding is available for the installation and the project must be bid, but before DEP can bid it, the borough council must sign an agreement to maintain the line once it's installed.
The borough can refuse, however.
From 2005 until 2011, problems with mine water flooding persisted at 302 W. Savory St., a property owned by James Somers Jr.
A few years ago, DEP stopped that flooding by installing a pipe that carried mine water rushing from the mountain into the sewer system managed by the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority.
The first step would be to drain the pool of water in the mountain, according to Connolly. Then, the 24-inch pipe would be installed under 302 W. Savory St. and the line would run northwest under two borough-owned parks, then under East Bacon Street, which is State Route 2002.
DEP would have to apply for a highway occupancy permit from PennDOT before work can begin. The line would turn west and run along the north side of the road.
The line will pass the intersection of Hewes Street and turn west onto property owned by Walco Fabricating Co., 501 W. Bacon St., and DEP would have to apply for an easement from Walco.
According to Tetra Tech's proposal, the new line would connect to an existing 24-inch pipe owned by the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority and DEP would have to apply for an easement from the sewer authority.
From there, the water would drain into a tributary of the Schuylkill River.
"I'm in favor of the project," Mayor Thomas W. Beveridge said Monday. "I just want to see it proceed at a pace and with the involvement of our attorneys and engineers to make sure the citizens are protected as best as they can be protected."
At the meeting Friday, Beveridge didn't like the idea of the borough taking responsibility for the line and said the 2013 budget for Palo Alto, a community of 450 residents, is $313,346 and he doubted the borough could afford maintenance on it.
Councilman Vincent Riotto said his only concern was that he didn't know why DEP wants the borough to take responsibility for the line after it's done.
"I am in favor of the project," Riotto said. "I know we want to get rid of the problem."
In other business, the borough council signed a letter of intent to the City of Pottsville to do a survey about the possibility of forming a regional police force.
"The borough is not committing to anything, it's simply a study and there's absolutely no cost," said solicitor Sudhir Patel, Pottsville. "It really is a no-brainer to go ahead with this, no downside at all."