The Borough of Mifflinburg and the Mifflinburg Hose Company have been working together to add another feature to help with public safety in Mifflinburg. The siren (alarm) system for the Borough of Mifflinburg has been approved to allow for activation of a siren warning system that can be activated by the Emergency Management Coordinator or local first responders. The intent of this new system is to provide advanced notice, when possible, of a tornado warning for our immediate area. This system would be activated when the National Weather Service issue a tornado warning in our area, giving residents some advanced notice of imminent weather conditions.

The first test for this Alarm is scheduled for Saturday April 4, 2020 at noon. If there is inclement weather, this test will be postponed for one week until April 11, 2020 at the same time. (further information available in the Mayor’s notice)

Thank you for your patience as we test this system.

Please Note:

In the future the Mifflinburg Hose Company will continue to use the FIRE Siren.

The FIRE Siren will continue to operate as it has in the past with  four (4) SHORT siren blasts which cycle up for several seconds and then cycle down for several seconds.

The TORNADO Siren will be a SUSTAINED THREE (3) minute siren.

We know that everyone is practicing extra sanitizing during the COVID-19 pandemic as recommended. We applaud those actions, however we cannot express enough that you should not flush any wipes! These wipe do not dissolve as they say they will and they can bind up pumps and equipment which will ultimately disrupt sewer services. So as indicated in the title NO WIPES DOWN THE PIPES!!!
We appreciate your cooperation!

COVID-19 Notice

In light of the measures recommended by the Federal Government and Governor Wolf the Borough of Mifflinburg has taken the following actions:

*The Borough Office and other facilities will be closed to public access through April 30, 2020. The Borough staff will be accessible by phone or email only during normal business hours. Any updates to this schedule will be posted on the Borough’s website: mifflinburgborough.org

*Customers who do not participate in the automatic payment system are asked to either mail utility payments or to drop their utility payments into the box located in the entry to the Municipal Building.

*Recycling is cancelled until May 16, 2020. Any updates to this will be published on the Borough’s website.

*Publics works crews will maintain all required utility operations while practicing CDC recommended precautionary measures.

*Police will remain on duty and utilize precautionary measures in dealing with the public and other agencies.

*Residents are encouraged to practice social distancing and other recommended precautions. More COVID-19 information is available at www.health.pa.gov.

*Information regarding businesses allowed to operate or applying for a waiver/exemption for non-life sustaining businesses should be directed to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) at https://dced.pa.gov/ DCED Customer Service can be reached by calling 1-866-466-3972 or by email at ra-dcedcs@pa.gov.

We apologize for any inconvenience that these actions may cause. The Borough office number is 570.966.1013 and the Police department can be reached at 570.966.1027.

We appreciate your patience as well all work to navigate these uncharted waters. We will continue to provide updates for our services on our website as we obtain more information from the State and Federal Governments.

RATIFICATION OF DECLARATION OF DISASTER EMERGENCY

At last night Borough Council’s meeting, on 3/17/2020, the Mifflinburg Borough Council and Mayor signed a Declaration of Disaster Emergency in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Similar Declaration’s of Disaster Emergencies have been signed in the past for things like severe weather events.

Ratifying a Declaration of Disaster Emergency will allow the opportunity to receive state funding for reimbursement of expenses incurred during this pandemic.

Pursuant to the provisions of § 7501 of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management services Code, (35 PA C.S. § 7501), as amended., Borough Council hereby declares the existence of a disaster emergency in the Borough of Mifflinburg.

Furthermore, Borough Council directed the Borough of Mifflinburg’s Emergency Management Coordinator to take any emergency action deemed necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Declaration of Disaster Emergency

Coronavirus COVID-19 Union County Press Release

Atlantic Broadband has notified the Borough that they will be performing some much needed upgrades on their facilities in Mifflinburg. Some of these upgrades may require brief service outages and street closures. FCC requires night time work (between midnight and 6:00 AM) for any service outages. This work will take place during December 2019, January and February 2020 as weather permits.

Please be patient as they work to improve service to our area.

Recycling Center

Does your Non-Profit Group want to volunteer to give back? If so, the Borough has an opportunity to help Mifflinburg and ultimately the environment.

The Borough needs a group of volunteers willing to man the Mifflinburg Recycling Center on the first Saturday of each month from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM. These volunteers help to unload incoming vehicles and sort the material into the correct bins.

Interested groups should contact the Borough Manager.

Shade Tree Commission

The Mifflinburg Shade Tree Commission is in need of a volunteer to serve. Interested individuals should contact the Borough Manager.

In the event a snow emergency is declared the following is a list of snow emergency routes:

• Borough Line Road
• Chestnut Street
• East Walnut Street
• Fifth Street
• Klingler Street
• Line Street
• Maple Street
• Market Street
• Old Orchard Lane
• Quarry Road
• Second Street
• Tenth Street
• Third Street
• Walnut Street

After a snow emergency is declared it shall be unlawful at any time during the continuance of the emergency for any person to park a motor vehicle anywhere on the snow emergency route and to drive any motor vehicle on the snow emergency route unless that vehicle is equipped with snow tires, four-wheeled drive or chains.

Mifflinburg Borough Council has adopted a sewer lateral inspection Ordinance.  This takes effect immediately and requires that prior to the transfer of ownership of any property in the Borough, the property owner must have the sewer lateral inspected (using a camera) as well as down spouts, floor drains and sump pump connections. This work is to be completed by a contractor with a Borough representative present to determine if there are any failing pipes or illegal connections. If any deficiencies are noted they must be repaired and then the property must be re-inspected before an Evidence of Compliance Certificate can be issued. The Ordinance and the inspection forms are available on the Borough’s website.

This Ordinance was enacted to help us eliminate some of our inflow and infiltration issues which contribute to our hydraulic overloads, which have caused our system to experience violations and to be placed under a connection prohibition by PA DEP.

For more information please contact the Borough Office – (570) 966-1013.

Thank you for your cooperation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) has issued a sewer connection ban for the area served by the Mifflinburg sewer system until further notice. In plain words this means- NO new or increased connections will be permitted until PA DEP says so.

This ban was the result of several sanitary sewer overflow violations which occurred and were reported to PA DEP by the Borough over the past year. PA DEP is requiring that the Borough prepare a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) showing how we intend to eliminate the inflow and infiltration which is causing the system to experience these violations.  Once the CAP is approved and once the Borough is able to show reductions in these extraneous flows, then PA DEP will decide if they will permit any new connections to the system.

What does inflow and infiltration mean? This means that storm water (ie. rainfall and groundwater) is making its way in to the sewer system. These flows are overwhelming the Borough’s sewer system and treatment plant.  This has been a problem for many years and the Borough has been working to find and eliminate these ‘problem’ connections, but it is difficult because they are either located underground, or on someone’s private property. Although we have made significant improvements and repairs over the years, we still haven’t eliminated the problem.

Over the coming months, you will see Borough Crews out in the system doing further investigation; either smoke testing, using a sewer camera, or placing flow meters in manholes. We may even complete some individual property inspections depending on what we find.

But we need your help too! How can you help us?  Please check out your own property to ensure that you do not have any ‘illegal’ connections.  Where does your sump pump drain go?  How about your roof or floor drains?  If you find that the answer is that they drain to your sewer lateral, please eliminate those connections and notify the office that you have done so.  We can report that as a fix to PA DEP and it may help us get the connection ban lifted. Voluntary elimination of these connections can also minimize the need for costly investigative and repair efforts which could ultimately impact your sewer bill!  Please contact the Borough office if you have any questions.

We appreciate your help!