CAMERON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined Cameron County officials today to announce details about a project for Emporium that will replace a high-risk, collapsing sewer pipe.

The project will cost $376,000. For the first time in a decade, Congress is sending federal dollars directly to community projects across the nation.

“This was at a critical location where it goes underneath the levy and it transfers across through the creek over to the sewage plant,” Emporium Borough Manager Don Reed said. “This has been a project that we’ve been wanting for five years.”

The Mid-Cameron Authority interceptor is deteriorated and has started to collapse. An engineer evaluation states the sewer is at high risk for failure, according to city officials. This sewer serves over half of the authority’s customers and a partial collapse happened in January 2020, resulting in emergency repairs.

“I believe that when you send elected representatives to Harrisburg or Washington and there’s funding available somewhere in the budget, that elected representative who is sent by the people should have the chance to make the case after the community has made the case to the elected representative,” Senator Casey said.