Issue involves possible transformation of Lambertville Sewerage Authority into a municipal utilities authority
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — The City Council will hold a pubic hearing Monday, and possibly a final vote, on the question of whether to transform the Lambertville Sewerage Authority into a municipal utilities authority.
A municipal utilities authority, or MUA, would be responsible for other utilities in addition to sewage. For example, the MUA eventually could take responsibility for the city’s garbage and recyclables, Mayor David Del Vecchio said when the ordinance to transform the LSA was introduced last month.
More than just being responsible for trash and recyclables or other utilities, becoming an MUA would grant the new body the authority to pursue interagency agreements and permits, according to LSA Executive Director James Meehan.
”All we’re giving them is the ability,” Mayor Del Vecchio said. “It could potentially save the rate payers, depending on what they do and what it produces.”
Such agreements could include the pursuit of alternative energy, such as hydropower and solar power, to reduce the agency’s reliance on electricity and keep its bills — and ultimately its rates — manageable, Mr. Meehan said.
Currently, the LSA expects a power bill of $140,000 this year. Last year, it was $125,000.
Seven years ago, the bill was $115,000, according to Mr. Meehan.
”Rates have actually doubled, and our bill (to LSA customers) is only 20 percent higher,” he said.
The MUA also could enter into power-purchasing agreements with other official bodies, similar to the solar energy co-op the city has just begun with surrounding schools and municipalities. The group is investigating possible ways to adopt the technology and save money.
The pursuit of hydropower could be more complicated. It would require agreements and permits with agencies that have jurisdiction over the Delaware River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the city’s historic district, including the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission and the New Jersey Water Authority, among others.
”There are costs to generate it,” Mr. Meehan said. “That’s what we have to look at. But we do think we’re onto something. Nothing comes easy. It’s going to take a lot of effort, but times are changing.”
The transformation to an MUA comes as the LSA is preparing for a $5 million to $7 million improvement project.
The plant is “old and tired,” Mr. Meehan said.
Improvements would include a replacement of the equipment that houses the biological process that breaks down the waste. “It’s ending its life. The biological process is close to 30 years old.”
The last time an upgrade was undertaken was in the early 1980s. The improvements would bring the plant “back to where it should be,” Mr. Meehan said.
The plan also earmarks more than $1 million to improve the plant’s infrastructure.
The LSA is applying to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust for the funds on a low- or no-cost basis, Mr. Meehan said.

