WILLIAMS' BILL TO HELP CONSUMERS CONNECT TO PUBLIC SYSTEMS

HARRISBURG, May 1 – State Sen. Connie Williams plans to introduce legislation to address a financial burden that many Pennsylvanians face when water or sewage is extended to their communities and they must find the money to pay for the lateral lines from their homes to the street.

"Having access to public water and sewer can increase the value of a home and reduce some of the headaches homeowners have when dealing with wells, cisterns, and on-lot sanitary systems such as sand mounds and septic systems," Williams said. "At the same time, paying for the material and labor to connect to the system can be an expensive proposition and residents have a set number of days to have the work completed. My proposed legislation would provide low-interest loans to homeowners to help them to pay for the installation of laterals."

Williams' proposed legislation would authorize PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority) to underwrite an annual total of $5 million in low interest loans from local banks to existing residential homeowners who are required to install water or sewer laterals to connect to public systems. It also would allow residential owners who are forced to replace existing laterals to qualify for these low interest loans. To qualify, homeowners would have to be at or below the state's median household income ($44,537).

"It would be cost-prohibitive for the state to get into the business of paying for lateral connections, but the state can do something to help homeowners obtain low-interest loans for these projects," Williams said.

When sanitary sewers are installed, homeowners often face not only costs of installing lines from their homes to the street, but also fees, such as the tap-in and connection fees. Lateral lines can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000, depending upon how far from the street a home is located. Once a new system is installed, homeowners generally have 60 days in which to connect to it, or risk fines.

"My legislation would help homeowners to make this investment in their property and in their community," Williams said. "Clean water and a healthy environment is important to homeowners and everyone wants to do their part to ensure their community is a good place to live. These loans would be a good tool to help homeowners contribute to a healthy community."