Export sewage customers will pay an additional $5 beginning March 1, after borough officials voted unanimously this week to pass along a $5 rate hike by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority that’s set to take effect next month.

Council President Barry Delissio said it was the best course of action in order to make sure the borough has sewage funds to carry out projects related to the state consent order it is under along with other FTMSA client communities.

Delissio said borough sewage bills will be $65 following the rate hike. Of that amount, $50 goes to FTMSA.

“Nobody likes to raise prices, but in order to cover the borough’s expenses, I think this is the best thing for us,” Councilwoman Melanie Litz said. The rate hike goes into effect March 1.

In addition, borough solicitor Wes Long, who serves the same role with the FTMSA, said it is considering charging a flat fee of $200 to have work crews fix sewage inspection stacks at properties which have failed recent smoke-and-dye testing.

The testing is also required as part of the consent order with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, which aims to eliminate the in-flow and infiltration of water into the sewage system. The overall goal is to put a stop to sewage overflows, caused when excess stormwater — which does not need to be treated at a sewage plant — puts too much pressure on FTMSA’s conveyance system.

In Export, 36 properties failed the smoke-and-dye tests but, Long said, many of those are relatively minor issues with the inspection stack that sticks out of the ground. FTMSA sent multiple letters to everyone whose property failed the tests. Borough officials said they plan to send one more round of letters, giving property owners 30 days to make the fixes themselves before having it done for them.

And rather than take property owners to court, Long said, the sewage authority is considering simply doing the work and charging residents. That action was made legal when all of the communities in the consent order enacted a group of ordinances to help streamline the process of complying.

“The thinking behind the $200 fee is that it’s more expensive for the property owner if these fixes are made through the court system,” Long said.

Some of the 36 properties have issues more serious than a damaged inspection stack, Delissio said. Those will be addressed separately from the simpler stack repairs.

Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.