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By JENNIFER LEARN [email protected]
Friday, March 17, 2000     Page: 3A

HARVEYS LAKE – The Dallas Area Municipal Authority is heading to a private
arbitrator to force the Harveys Lake Sewer Authority to pay almost $500,000 in
overdue fees.
   
So why did the Dallas authority recently refuse a $5,000 check from the
Harveys Lake authority?
    Thomas Bagley, Dallas authority executive director, said the check was
offered as part of a new contract proposal that would have lowered the rates
Harveys Lake pays the Dallas authority to pump sewage for treatment.
   
Bagley said he mailed back the uncashed check because he does not want to
lock his authority into an agreement that would be unfair to its customers.
   
The other municipalities served by the Dallas authority have the same
contracts and fees, and they would cry foul if Harveys Lake were to get a
sweeter deal, Bagley said.
   
The two authorities have battled since the Dallas authority threatened to
cut off the borough’s sewage by Jan. 1 for failing to pay overdue bills and
negotiate a new contract. Harveys Lake’s last service contract with Dallas
expired Jan. 1.
   
But state environmental officials wouldn’t allow the Dallas authority to
cut off Harveys Lake, so the authority promised to wage a legal battle against
the Harveys Lake authority.
   
Last week, the Dallas authority took its first legal step by seeking
assistance from the American Arbitration Association. Bagley said the Harveys
Lake authority owes $470,000 for service operation, maintenance and
construction of a new sewer line dating back to 1993. The Harveys Lake
authority has not paid a penny since 1993, Bagley said.
   
The arbitrator’s decision will be binding, Bagley said.
   
Harveys Lake authority representatives have argued that the Dallas
authority should have cut its fees when the Dallas authority shut down its
sewage treatment operation in 1993. Since then, the Dallas authority has been
pumping sewage from more than 1,500 Harveys Lake households to the Wyoming
Valley Sanitary Authority.
   
Harveys Lake authority lawyer Michael J. Wilson, in Camp Hill, could not be
reached for comment Thursday. He has said the Harveys Lake authority expected
to pay something but not the amount demanded by the Dallas authority.
Call Learn at 831-7333.