SILVER SPRING TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) — The project itself was anything but a surprise. The decision to do it, after all, dates to 2006.

But the cost for 240 Cumberland County homes to hook up to the I-81 Sewer Extension Project?

“We never anticipated it was going to be this bad,” said Jeff Trayer, who lives in a manufactured home that used to belong to his deceased mother and who retired on disability but is working part-time to make ends meet.

Like his neighbors, Trayer is facing a flat $4,350 fee to connect to the line, on top of what he estimates — in his case — could be $10,000 or more for a contractor to run a line from his house to the public sewer.

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Jim Stevens, manager of the Silver Spring Sewer Authority, says unfortunately, Trayer’s estimate sounds plausible.

“Since 2020, we’ve seen doubling or even tripling of many costs” — materials, labor, all of it, Stevens said.

He said as high as $4,350 sounds, that figure hasn’t risen in decades, meaning it hasn’t come close to keeping up with inflation. He said if residents had to share the true cost of the line, the figure would be more like $40,000; Stevens said the authority actually subsidizes the cost from fees it has collected from developers of new subdivisions in recent years.

Information about the project — including low-interest loans and a list of 14 contractors who can do the work — is available here.

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“I don’t want a loan,” Trayer said. What does he want?

“As long as my septic’s working and passes [inspection every five years, I should be able to use it,” Trayer said. “I shouldn’t be forced to hook up to something until my property is either sold or [the septic tank] doesn’t work anymore.”

Stevens said any home within 150 feet of a public sewer line has to connect to it, and the rules are governed by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. He said septic tanks — which are common in rural areas — aren’t good for quarter-acre lots because septic tanks that are relatively close to wells can cause “high nitrate levels and also sometimes coliform contamination in your well water.”

Stevens said about 25 of 240 impacted homes have already connected to the new sewer line, and another 30 pulled permits. He said mandatory connection notices will be mailed March 1. They’ll include a deadline to connect within 60 days, but that’s one area where the authority can be flexible — Stevens said with hundreds of homes needing work and a finite supply of contractors, homeowners might need more time.

Trayer said he’s not usually one to complain.

“I usually just go with the flow and do what you got to do,” he said.

But in this case, what he has to do costs money he says he doesn’t have.

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