CONNOQUENESSING TWP — Township officials are charting a new path forward for their Act 537 sewage plan following the rejection of their previous $53 million proposal by the Department of Environmental Protection in December.

After a Jan. 29 fact-finding meeting with the agency that included township supervisors, the solicitor and engineer, officials now face a July 1 deadline to submit an updated plan.

Unlike the first submission, however, Supervisor Mark Williams said the new plan will be more “surgical” and would likely preclude every resident from having to tap in to one system.

“At this point, we don’t know who will or will not connect because there’s a lot of variables involved,” Williams said during a township supervisors meeting Wednesday, Feb. 4.

He also noted that engineers would be further along in the process of developing a new plan and would have more information to share with the public at the board’s next meeting set for March 4.

In the meantime, officials are focusing on which areas of the township can be connected to the new system, as outlined in the DEP consent decree.

In its denial letter dated Dec. 18, the DEP recommended steps officials could take to revise the Act 537 sewage plan.

The agency recommended scaling back the project by concentrating first on several problematic areas, including Winterwood Drive and the surrounding area, along with portions of Eagle Mill, Evans City, Kriess and Dick roads.

Williams said other portions of the township could meet DEP requirements under the onlot disposal system.

That portion of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act is “largely administered on the local government level,” according to the state’s website. Connoquenessing Township officials would also receive technical oversight and financial assistance from the DEP for those lots.

Williams emphasized that supervisors will play a more active role in the process before any new plan is submitted.

“This time, the supervisors will understand what’s happening,” he said. “It’s not just throwing it to the engineers and saying, ‘Go do it.’ We’re having some input and some communication back and forth.”

Much like last year, residents will have a chance to comment ahead of the deadline for submission.

Williams said the plan is expected to be completed by March 31, with a public comment period likely to begin in mid-April.