Nearly $100K In Unexpected Sewage Costs Faced By Cherry Hill

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill Township is paying the sewage bill for a lax business property owner, the interim solicitor for Cherry Hill told Patch.

The property at the center of this issue is the land that was once a steakhouse restaurant at 2458 State Route 38, interim Cherry Hill Solicitor Howard Long said.

"The owners had a private sewer pump station on their property. All the sewage goes into that pump station and then pumps to where it ties into the town," Long explained. "It's privately owned and the township is, not obligated, nor should it be required to take care of it."

However, when the property owner became lax on some bills and power to the sewage pump station was turned off, the township did step in to take care of it, he said.

Although no residences were impacted by the sewage pump station's power being cut off, the township still stepped in to avoid an environmental hazard, Long said in the interview.

"We put a bypass up there that we rent for ... [about] $3,600 a month," he said.

Right now, the township has allocated about $100,000 to the problem, he added.

Cherry Hill Township has filed a lien against the property, according to Long.

"We will get our money back," he said. "It's a fairly valuable property [and] whenever that sells we'll get our money back."

In the interim, Cherry Hill Township will use money from an emergency account to cover the costs, Long said.

Using the emergency account ensures no currently existing programs, positions or similar municipal government needs funded in Cherry Hill's regular budget will be affected, he said.

Patch was unable to reach the company that Long identified as the property owner for comment.

Got a news tip? Story idea? Send me an email with the details at janel.miller@patch.com.