The public hearing on the proposed LCA wastewater treatment plant for some 5 acres of land to be subdivided from KidsPeace property in Schnecksville was re-opened Sept. 10.

Jeanene Bauer, of the citizens group, The Voice of The Jordan, took a seat before the board and presented some additional evidence.

She acquired additional copies of paperwork from the Department of Environmental Protection concerning alleged violations on operations at LCA wastewater treatment plants.

She also presented her list of all the septic permits in the last five years and claimed the issuance of the few permits in the proposed service area did not justify construction of the plant.

LCA Attorney Jim Preston launched a short cross examination, questioning her contacts on the material presented.

He then recalled LCA Capital Works Manager Frank Leist to the stand.

Leist previously testified he was not aware of any DEP violations at any LCA treatment plants.

He now stated he spoke in error at that time and presented a list showing all the violations at the three sewage treatment plants and the compliance history for each one.

He also discussed the monthly discharge monitoring report that gave sampling results at each treatment plant.

Leist then gave a short history of the three plants the LCA owns.

The Heidelberg Heights plant in Heidelberg Township was acquired in 1998 and the new plant was brought online in 2000.

The existing plant was obsolete and had a bad performance history with many violations. There have been no violations since 2005.

The Wynnewood plant was acquired in 2003. Several violations were noted between 2003 and 2006, mostly flow related.

Heavy rains would cause an overload at the plant. He said the water violations at Wynnewood were Lehigh County Government Center violations.

The Sand Springs plant was similarly discussed.

Leist said the many flow violations shown are due to inflow and infiltration caused by heavy rains seeping into the sewer system, not from plant malfunction.

LCA performs 22,000 regulatory tests per year on its three wastewater treatment plants and 13 water treatment plants.

Leist contradicted some of the evidence that Bauer presented.

Some of the violations cited in her correspondence did not apply to LCA but instead to other Lehigh County operators.

Leist and Bauer contradicted each other on their respective testimony concerning the purported violations.

Jan Keim addressed the board on the matter citing her concern with the possible degradation of the Jordan Creek if the plant is installed.

She is vice chairman of the Little Lehigh Watershed Coalition, environmental activist and co-founder of the Wildlands Conservancy.

In support of her argument, she cited the condition of the Little Lehigh Creek with its problems from sewage inflow due to increased development in the watershed.

She also recounted a waste overflow in one of LCA's lines, which instituted a substantial cleanup effort.

"Do you want the Jordan Creek to be like the Little Lehigh?" Keim asked the board.

Attorney John Roberts, representing The Voice of the Jordan, presented a letter to the board from Lowhill Township officials urging them to turn down the application.

Young noted all the exhibits were accepted, and if there was no more testimony, the hearing would be closed.

The next hearing was scheduled for Sept. 18 when the two attorneys would present closing arguments.