The sewer subcommittee of the Shenango Valley Environmental Study Committee appears ready to leave its consultant behind and proceed with a new approach to its work.

But the subcommittee continues to dicker with L. Robert Kimball and Associates, Ebensburg, Pa., over what, if any, the consultant is owed.

"As expected, there was definite disagreement over whether they fulfilled their obligation or not," subcommittee Chairman Joe Augustine said of a recent meeting with Kimball.

The subcommittee is waiting for a report from Kimball substantiating what work the company has done to earn the $13,000 it has billed the city of Farrell, the study's lead community.

Augustine, a Hermitage commissioner, said he doesn't think the company deserves any money.

"Definitely, I think we have to terminate this contract with Kimball because they haven't done anything at all," Augustine said.

A call to Kimball seeking comment was not returned.

Kimball's biggest gaffe was failing to secure any grant money to discuss combining the wastewater treatment facilities of Farrell, Sharon, Hermitage and Sharpsville into one, Augustine said. Finding grants to pay for the study was a condition of the contract, he said.

While Kimball claimed it has collected data, Augustine said the only collection he knows of was done by local officials.

Kimball also said it submitted a grant application to the state prior to a Feb. 5 meeting with state officials in Harrisburg, but the state officials were unaware of it, Augustine said.

"They have been AWOL since Harrisburg," said Hermitage Commissioner James "Pat" White. "There is no report from them."

The study was to have been completed by Sept. 5, said Tom Tulip, director of the Mercer County office of the Pennsylvania Economy League.

"We asked them for a status report and they never provided one," Tulip said.

The subcommittee is ready to carry on with a different goal. While Kimball was hired with the aim of trying to combine the sewer systems serving the five communities into one, the state won't let that happen, Augustine said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has said that it will not agree to dismantle the wastewater treatment plants in Farrell, Sharon and Hermitage in favor of a new one, Augustine said.

The subcommittee will focus on the administrative aspects of combining the sewer systems, while leaving the sewer plants as they are.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development has committed $60,000 through Farrell's status as a distressed municipality for the study, but does not want the money used to resolve the dispute with Kimball, said Farrell Mayor William Morocco.

The subcommittee has prepared a request for proposals to attract a new consultant, but local officials are talking with state officials about how to proceed.

Augustine said he would be comfortable hiring a consultant that he has not named that has helped out the committee for free.

Sam Wagner, local government policy specialist for DCED's Center for Local Government Services, said it hasn't been decided whether the committee needs to allow other consulting firms a chance to tender proposals, or if it can simply choose the one Augustine prefers.