The city of Hermitage and the Hermitage Municipal Authority have agreed to limit connections to the sanitary sewer system while they undertake a series of improvement projects.

The connection limit is part of a consent agreement between the city, authority and state Department of Environmental Protection.

The city also agreed to pay a penalty for violations of its discharge permit and state regulations, and create a team to study storm water getting into the sanitary sewer system.

The city has agreed that no new connections will be made in the Golden Run service area, which is roughly east of Keel Ridge Road, south of Lamor Road, north of East State Street and west of North Darby Road, until improvements are made.

The city has had a voluntary ban on large developments in the area and has permitted only some single-family homes to tap in, said City Manager Gary P. Hinkson.

The rest of the city is limited to 125 connections through March 31.

A single connection would be a tap-in by a single-family home, also known as an equivalent dwelling unit.

Non-residential tap-ins will be assigned an EDU value based on an EDU equaling 400 gallons of water usage a day.

Officials don't expect the limit to hamper its economic development efforts. The city has made only about 40 connections a year in recent years, said Assistant City Manager Gary M. Gulla.

"We hope that it's enough," Hinkson said. "If it's not enough, on one hand it will be a good problem because it will mean development is ready to happen."

The city cannot carry unused connections over beyond April 11, 2004, and will have to ask DEP for more, he said.

Anyone who asks for a connection permit will have 60 days to tap into the system or lose the permit, and connection permits will be issued only with building permits.

DEP agreed to exempt a couple of high-profile parcels from the connection limit because it had previously approved them: the Kraynak property on which a Super Wal-Mart has been proposed to be built, and Gateway Commerce Park. Both sites are along Hermitage Road.

DEP also agreed to hear a city request for more connections if a project that would mean "significant economic development," such as an industrial park, were proposed, Hinkson said.

City officials lobbied for that requirement because of the impact such a project could have, not just on Hermitage, but on the area, Hinkson said.

The city has had a plan for system improvements that dates back to 1998, when about $30 million in work was proposed through 2010, but state officials decided it wasn't doing enough or acting fast enough.

The city's permit to discharge treated water into the Shenango River lapsed, and violated permit provisions by discharging more water than allowed and breaching water quality standards.

Hinkson said the city has been aware of problems and has been working to correct them.

"This isn't something where we turned our backs on the system or our responsibility to the environment or to the state regulating agency," he said.

The two sides worked out an agreement that sets timetables for work and penalties for failing to live up to them, and the city accepted paying a $29,000 penalty for past violations.

The city is committed to investigate how storm water is getting into the system and has set aside $500,000 for corrective work. The city will staff a crew to inspect all manholes, perform smoke and dye testing and monitor flows. If a problem is found, the city will have to correct it.

The investigations also could turn up problems such as residential downspouts that are connected to the sewer systems, and property owners will have to sever those tie-ins.

City commissioners will have to adopt an ordinance that will require sewer laterals to be inspected every time a property is sold.

The city also is committed to about $15 million in work to renovate the plant on Broadway Avenue so it can treat more water, replace lines, renovate a pump station and build a new pump station.

The authority, which owns the sewer system and leases it to the city for maintenance, and the city just agreed to a $12 million bond issue to pay for a series of projects.

These projects are under contract:

   » Replace the force main line in the Golden Run-Sample Road area, $644,000.

   » Replace the Virginia Road interceptor line, $366,000.

   » Replace the Sample Road interceptor and force main lines, $825,000.

Two other projects are in the works:

   » Renovate the Golden Run pump station on Robertson Road and build a new one on Sample Road at an estimated cost of $1.8 million.

   » Extend city sanitary sewer lines along South Darby Road to serve homes whose septic systems are not functioning properly from an environmental standpoint at an estimated $475,000.

Of course, city sanitary sewer customers will ultimately pay for the work. Sewer fees were raised this year, and the first quarterly billing just went out.

Residential rates were hiked from $66 a quarter to $84, and rates will jump again to $90 on Jan. 1 and $95 on Jan. 1, 2005.

Non-residential customers will see increases of about the same percentage, Hinkson said, adding that rates had actually gone down in recent years from a high of $73.25 a quarter.

Hinkson said he believes the city will comply with state regulations within three years.

If the city misses a deadline or otherwise violates terms of the agreement, it can be penalized from $100 to $1,000 a day, depending on the type of violation.

The city is looking beyond the terms of the order. In about 2010, the city will have to do more work at the sewage treatment plant, a project that has a modern-day cost estimate of $15 million to $18 million.