Vera Cruz man Seeks Sewer Project Exemption

A Vera Cruz man came before the at the June 7 supervisors’ meeting to ask the board to allow him to opt out of the ongoing .

Ralph Christman, of Main Road East, approached the board to request the exemption because his house sits more than 500 feet from the road and his 11-acre property has a fully functional and relatively new sand mound – a system Christman reminded the supervisors that the township had mandated that he install.

In order to connect to the sewer, Christman said, he would need to dig under a lengthy, paved driveway, which translates into a significant expense.

“One shoe, one glove doesn’t fit everybody,” Christman said. “It seems like common sense should prevail here.”

Supervisor George DeVault, whose home is also part of the Vera Cruz Sewer Project, said his situation is similar to Christman’s.

“I genuinely feel your pain,” DeVault said. “Our home sits 600 feet back from the road and we have a working sand mound. The thought of flushing all of that money down the drain doesn’t thrill me.”

DeVault also brought up a compromise proposal he had presented to the board before he was elected supervisor which would have allowed owners with operational septic systems to pay the tapping fee and put in the lateral without being forced to hook into the public sewer system.

“If and when their septic system fails,” DeVault said, “then they must hook in. LCA (Lehigh County Authority) will have its money, which is all they want.

“He’s right, one size does not fit all and we are not part of the problem,” he said.

In response to a question from Board of Supervisors Chair Daniel Mohr, Township Planning Coordinator Brian Miller said that very few completely working septic systems have been destroyed during the Vera Cruz project, with about half of the homes in the project area connected to date.

Township Solicitor Marc Fisher said that the sewer ordinance needs to be enforced consistently or the township could open itself up to legal issues.

Supervisor Robert Sentner told Christman that the supervisors would look into the matter and encouraged him to attend the next supervisors meeting.