Berkeley, Calif., has a unique distinction for Dean Dairy Products Co.

Among Dean's 94 milk-processing plants in the United States, it's the only one that has higher sewage rates than the company's South Pymatuning Township plant.

But that could change.

A sewer rate hike under consideration could leapfrog the local plant over the California operation.

Frank Chrastina, a vice president and general manager for Dean who oversees the local plant and its 325 employees, believes the proposed rate increase is milking the plant and he's asking for relief.

"It's just unfortunate,'' Chrastina said. "We've been here since 1934 and growing in the community. If we were a new company and we wanted to build a new factory and we asked what could you do for us -- they'd give us everything we needed, including roads.''

South Pymatuning is a member of the Upper Shenango Valley Water Pollution Control Authority, which sends its sewage to Sharon's plant for treatment. New state mandates are forcing Sharon to upgrade its treatment plant at an estimated $22 million price tag.

Those costs must be passed along, and proposed residential rates could rise 60 percent, pushing monthly bills to $37 from $23. No new rates have been proposed for industrial users, but Chrastina is wary they could jump as high or even higher than residential rates.

Dean already is being charged a higher rate than residential customers, Chrastina said. Residential customers are charged $20 for every 400 gallons of sewage flow, while Dean is charged $28 for every 150 gallons, he said.

"Our opinion is a flow is a flow,'' Chrastina said.

But Joe Augustine, executive director of the Upper Shenango Valley Authority, said the authority charges residential customers a flat rate, while businesses are charged based on the amounts they discharge. A homeowner is charged $11.50 a month, with the average home discharging 266 gallons. Businesses are charged $11.50 for every 150 gallons discharged. But Augustine noted that a community can tack on extra charges for homeowners and businesses, which might account for Chrastina's figures.

Wages and other operating costs at the South Pymatuning plant are comparable to Dean's other operations, Chrastina said. He didn't know how the local plant stacks up when it comes to taxes.

Regardless, local sewer fees are a hefty cost. A typical monthly water and sewer bill at the plant runs $55,000, with sewage representing $36,000 of that, Chrastina said.

He acknowledged that the plant is a big user, averaging 100,000 gallons a day into the sewer. The discharge is high because plant equipment must be cleaned and sanitized every 24 hours.

Dean isn't looking to pull up stakes and move the plant, Chrastina said. But the company is looking for ways to reduce its sewage bill and one avenue is to move its juice operations to other plants. Employing 10 at the local plant, that operation could be moved to Dean's Erie or Akron plants, he said.

For now, Dean is awaiting its upcoming bill.

"Last year when we got our first-quarter bill in April, we had a 35 percent increase in cost,'' he said. "We've been asking this year up to this point what our first-quarter bill will be and we're not sure yet.''

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