The Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority is a publicly operated municipal authority that treats sewage from households and businesses throughout of the city of Greensburg, the boroughs of South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg, and portions of Hempfield Township, all located in central Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
It was established in January 1957."Greensburg Adopts Sewage Authority." Connellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, January 15, 1957, p. 4 (subscription required).
History and service statistics Established in January 1957,"Greensburg Adopts Sewage Authority," The Daily Courier, January 15, 1957. the Greater Greensburg Sewer Authority received approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and its Sanitary Water Board in December 1958 to add an intercepting sewer to its operations system."Treatment Works Approved by State." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, December 3, 1958, p. 21 (subscription required).
In March 1962, the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board initially denied permission to the Greater Greensburg Sewer Authority to extend its sewer system to provide services to the new Greensburg Salem High School and the city's Lynch Field swimming pool, which were both under construction at that time. The state based that determination on the sewer authority's "lack of satisfactory progress toward compliance with the [state's] original order to construct [a new] treatment plant.""Deny Greensburg Plea to Extend Sewer System." McConnellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, March 10, 1962, p. 12 (subscription required). By the end of that year, newspapers were reporting that state mandates had increased the cost of the new school's sewer line construction from $189,000 to $243,000."State Mandates Increase Cost of Sewer Line." McConnellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, December 17, 1962, p. 8 (subscription required).
During the summer of 1962, sewage authority leaders proposed a $5,180,000 bond issue"New issue: $5,180,000: Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority (Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania): Sewer Revenue Bonds, Series A (Callable)" (bond issuance notice). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 2, 1862, p. 32 (subscription required). that would support the construction of a sewage disposal system for the communities of Greensburg, South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. Construction costs were estimated at $4,504,523 with $207,000 proposed for engineering costs and $100,000 estimated for the purchase of land, right of way damages, and other related legal fees, and $334,726 estimated for fees associated with the release and maintenance of the bond. The bond was expected to be paid for by water users in the three communities at the rate of one hundred and thirty-two percent of their respective water bills."Greensburg Sewage Group Floats Bonds." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, July 25, 1962, p. 18 (subscription required). The Series A bonds issued during that period were called for redemption on October 1, 1986 with all outstanding bonds maturing on or after August 1, 1987."Notice of Redemption To the Holders of Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority (Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania) Sewer Revenue Bonds, Series A." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 4, 1986, p. 47 (subscription required). At a meeting in late July of that year, sewage authority board members met with local borough officials to define the service fees that would be charged by the authority to customers, by municipality, for their water consumption, the powers to be given to the sewage authority to operate its various components, including the authority's responsibility for billing and charging consumers, and other operational procedures."Sewage Authority Advances Program in Greensburg Area." McConnellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, July 24, 1962, p. 14 (subscription required).
In 1963 and 1965, the sewage authority received challenges to its rate structure from, respectively, Hempfield Township officials who felt the $500 charge for new, individual, residential sewer tap-ins was too high,"Sewer Tap Charge Agreement Asked." McConnellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, November 15, 1963, p. 3 (subscription required). and from the mayor of Greensburg who was pushing for a five percent reduction in rates for his borough's residents."Gbg. Mayor Asks Sewage Rates Be Cut." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, May 4, 1965, p. 12 (subscription required). In August 1965, the Southwest Greensburg Council approved a seventeen percent rate reduction for its residents to bring their bills in line with those of residents from other cities served by the sewage authority."Council Reduces Sewer Line Rates." McConnellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, August 27, 1965, p. 4 (subscription required).
In August 1966, the Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority received a $71,017 state grant in support of the Clean Streams Act. It had been deemed eligible for a total of $3,550,858 in funding."Checks Mailed to Sewage Treatment Authorities." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, August 22, 1966, p. 11 (subscription required).
In November 1968, the sewer authority received $68,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and its Sanitary Water Board to support the operation and maintenance of its sewage treatment facilities as part of a $1,510,843.29 award made to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority."County Gets $1-1/2 Million for Sewage." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 29, 1968, p. 10 (subscription required). In December 1969, the sewer authority received an additional $68,325.50 for that same purpose."Sewage Facilities Funds Distributed." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, December 16, 1969, front page (subscription required).
1970s During the early 1970s, Hempfield Township was sued by private real estate developers for failure to issue building permits for a low-cost housing project that was already underway. The township had stopped issuing those permits when executives of the Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority realized that their system would be unable to handle the increased load that would be generated by the addition of the new residential properties and ceased issuing permits for new sewer tap-ins."Decision on Suit Delayed." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, December 18, 1973, front page (subscription required).
1980s In 1980, environmental regulators of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania denied permission to the Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority to create new sewer tap-ins and new building permits for contractors planning to build new apartments in the community of Greensburg because the sewage authority's system would be unable to process the water flow issues and sewage that were expected to be generated by those proposed apartments."DER rules anger Greensburg builders." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 21, 1983, p. 9 (subscription required).
Less than two years later, the sewage authority was forced to take its sewage treatment plant out of service in January 1982 when a waterline break dumped more than one-and-a-half-million gallons of water into the basement where the plant's solid waste-processing equipment was held. Plant repairs, which were approved by state environmental regulators, involved the subsequent dumping of more than four million gallons of raw sewage into Jack's Run near Route 119 while the plant remained out of service."Waterline rupture closes sewage plant." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 14, 1982, p. 78 (subscription required). Following roughly $280,000 in repairs, the plant was placed back into operation in early February."Sewage plant back in operation." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 3, 1982, p. 62 (subscription required).
The multi-year, tap-in hold subsequently continued, with builders being denied permits or delayed by the city's planning department,"DER rules anger Greensburg builders," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 21, 1983."DER to contest developer's suit." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 17, 1983, p. 44 (subscription required). an impasse which finally ended in 1983 when state regulators ceased their tap ban"DER ends sewer tap ban." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 20, 1983, p. 58 (subscription required). and authorized the sewage authority's 1984 addition of two hundred and sixty new sewer taps, one hundred and thirty-four of which were slated for the community of Greensburg, with the communities of Hempfield, Southwest Greensburg, and South Greensburg receiving ninety, twelve, and nine new taps, respectively, and the authority itself receiving twenty-one."Sewage plan ready." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 22, 1983, p. 13 (subscription required)."Sewer taps allocated." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 23, 1984, p. 9 (subscription required). Four hundred additional new tap-ins were then authorized by the state in late 1985 to enable the sewage authority to link interceptor sewers at new residential and commercial properties to the authority's treatment plant."Sewer tap-ins approved," in "Westmoreland." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 16, 1985, p. 44 (subscription required).
On June 11, 1987, sewage authority board members approved a thirty-three percent rate hike for customers in Greensburg, South Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg, and parts of Hempfield Township in order to help reach new sewer system updates mandated by state environmental regulators."Greensburg sewer service will cost 33 percent more." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 29, 1987, p. 32 (subscription required).
In October 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $4,791,540 grant to the Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority for use in making major improvements to sewer lines in the communities it served and in upgrading its sewage treatment plant on Route 119. $780,000 of that grant was dedicated to repairing Hempfield Township sewer lines."Westmoreland News Briefs." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 20, 1988, p. 114 (subscription required). Pennsylvania's Office of the Governor also approved an additional $81,600 to enable the sewage authority to install new sewers at Zeller's Run."Towns get state aid." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 13, 1988, p. 89 (subscription required).
In 1989, the sanitary sewer rate charged to customers by the Greater Greensburg Sewer Authority was one hundred and sixty percent of each customer's total water usage, whether that water entered the GGSA sewer system or not."Greensburg," in "Communities." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 18, 1989, p. 13 (subscription required). In December of that year, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, also known as Pennvest, approved a $5.1 million loan to the sewage authority to support its $11.3 million plan to upgrade its sewage treatment plant on Route 119 in order to bring it into compliance with recent federal mandates."$10.5 million in loans OK'd." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 16, 1989, p. 13 (subscription required).
1990s On February 23, 1990, sewage authority executives broke ground on a planned eleven-million-dollar expansion of the authority's sewage treatment plant on Route 119 in South Greensburg. Expected to be completed by the end of 1991, it was designed to increase the plant's capacity in order to meet tighter state and federal environmental regulations."Greensburg," in "In Brief." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 24, 1990, p. 43 (subscription required).
Recent capital improvements