Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority (CWSA) Engineer Darryl Jenkins reported at the Nov. 21 CWSA meeting that the Coplay Creek Interceptor project is substantially complete, according to the contractor working on the project.

The project is part of an EPA mandate designed to reduce groundwater infiltration into the sewer system. Reducing groundwater infiltration reduces the amount of water that needs to be treated and extends the capacity of the wastewater treatment system.

The CWSA board disagreed with the contractor's assessment of completion and tabled the final payment. The board's main concern is the debris that still remains piled at various parts of the project.

"We asked the contractor to clean up the mess at the last meeting and he has not taken any action," board member James Roth said.

Board member Joseph Marx indicated that minor progress had been made, but the project was not up to standards.

"What I don't understand is how they worked so well getting the pipe in the ground and have fallen down on the clean up," said CWSA Chairman John Schreiner.

The authority holds a 5-percent retainage fee, an amount that totals nearly $500,000, but the board is not willing to release further funds until the construction debris is cleared.

"Substantial completion is a milestone measurement," said Jenkins after the meeting. "Essentially the contractor is reporting that they have met the requirements of the job and the board can't hold them responsible for not meeting their completion deadline."

The contractor is well ahead of the original projected completion date.

"We are asking that they clean up the debris and we will consider action at the next month's meeting," said Schreiner. "If they can't get the cleanup done, we can table it again."

Roth added that the contractor is working on the Ruch Street project.

"That's a residential area and they can't leave the area in the same shape," he said.

Jenkins was tasked with taking the board's comments back to the contractor.

Also during the meeting, board member Joseph Bonshak, who heads the safety committee, indicated that the authority purchased new breathing masks, but the certified trainer said the protection ability decreases substantially if facial hair exceeds one day's growth. Bonshak asked the board to modify safety regulations to include all OSHA requirements.

The board responded positively and Schreiner asked that the requirements be posted. Bonshak also asked the board to authorize spending no more than $3,000 for a safety trailer.

"The suggestion was made to get a separate trailer that would have all the safety equipment on it. The trailer could be towed to a work site," he said.

The board approved the measure after assurances from Bonshak that the authority had enough safety equipment to cover two simultaneous work sites.

Schreiner also read into the record correspondence from Allentown that the city and the CWSA will sit down at an arbitration hearing Dec. 17 to finalize a billing dispute between the CWSA and the Allentown Wastewater Treatment Plant.