Where the talks might lead for D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. to get into full compliance with a April 2000 order issued by the Greater Pottsville Sewer Authority's pretreatment coordinator is still up in the air.
The board held its monthly meeting Wednesday on the third floor of Pottsville City Hall. No members from the public attended.
According to The Republican-Herald archives, the company is supposed to "engineer, purchase and install an equalization tank and combine all of your outfalls together in order to effectively pretreat, as necessary, the brewery's wastewater stream by Oct. 31, 2001," for its brewery on Mahantongo Street, according to the "Administrative Compliance Order."
The brewery is inspected by the authority's pretreatment program coordinator, Joseph A. Brahler, and mostly is in compliance with standards set by the authority about discharge.
Board Chairman Ian Lipton referred comments about what the board will do to get compliance from the company to solicitor Edward M. Brennan.
Brennan said Wednesday the board is working in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the issue.
"There's overlapping jurisdiction but they're clearly the major enforcement agency, so we're waiting basically to hear from them," he said.
Yuengling has not submitted any plans for a treatment plant, Brennan said.
He did not say the last time someone spoke to an individual with the agency. "Because of the nature of potential litigation," he said he would not elaborate on any discussions.
When asked if the EPA was considering any litigation against the company, he said, "We can't say at this point. But we're talking to them about what our next step would be in conjunction with the EPA. And it's really their call to make."
The federal agency is the one who would fine the company, Brennan said previously; however, the order gives some power to the board to impose penalties.
If that was still the case about the fines, he said, "We don't know yet. It could be. You know we don't know yet. I can't speculate. I don't want to speculate what they'll do ... All I can say is the EPA is the main enforcement agency."
Brennan did not know when the EPA would make a decision.
Timothy R. Yingling, executive director of the authority, said anyone is welcome to attend the meeting.
In other news, Yingling said the attempt by the authority to gain full compliance for the stormwater sewer separation project is not yet complete but getting there. Yingling said he spoke with the person in charge of the project and he will have an update of how many property owners are not in compliance.
The next meeting of the authority is 7 p.m. May 29 on the third floor of city hall.