Municipal officials in Marshall have begun studying a plan to bring public sewers to most of the township.

The ambitious undertaking was announced Tuesday at a regular meeting of the Marshall Township Municipal Sanitary Authority.

The communitywide proposal, which would include mostly undeveloped land, is being considered as an alternative to a smaller-scale plan to provide sewer lines to 54 existing homes and businesses in the neighborhoods around Valley Road.

Following the recommendation of township Manager Neil McFadden, authority members delayed taking action on the Valley Road project until the broader plan could be studied. Mr. McFadden also serves as manager of the authority.

About 1,500 existing homes and businesses in Marshall are connected to public sewer lines. About 200 others rely on septic systems or small treatment plants. Undeveloped land eventually could account for another 1,500 housing units.

Installing sewer lines as part of a larger project could bring with it economies of scale, long-term bond financing and access to government grants or loans. Those factors have the potential to reduce costs for property owners in existing neighborhoods where sewer lines have been proposed.

Many people in the Valley Road watershed balked at the estimated $19,000-per-household assessment for the smaller project to serve their neighborhoods. They also would face bills for connecting their properties to the new sewer laterals.

"That plan was way too costly," said Jim Pesante, of Wexford Run Road.

"I'd rather see the costs spread out for a project over the entire community," agreed Melissa Tsaggaris Corso, of Mingo Road.

Mr. McFadden said he hoped to have preliminary costs for the broader-scale project by the March 27 meeting of the sanitary authority.

One element of the new plan would involve taking back responsibility for providing sewer service in the southeast corner of the township from the neighboring McCandless Township Sanitary Authority. Executive Director William Youngblood was out of the office last week, and a spokesman said no one else could comment on Marshall's request.

The McCandless authority provides both transmission and treatment of sewage for 52,000 customers in six communities in the North Hills's Pine Creek watershed.

Marshall's sanitary authority limits its activities to building and maintaining lines, but it has agreements for treatment of its sewage in Cranberry, McCandless and Economy plants. Those plants appear to have enough excess capacity to handle Marshall's future needs, Mr. McFadden said.

Approval of a plan for providing sewers throughout the township would speed plans for installation of lines, officials said. The western third of the township lies in the Big Sewickley Creek watershed, and expansion of sewer service into that mostly undeveloped area was seen as being five to 10 years away.

With a townshipwide plan, trunk lines could be installed within two years, Mr. McFadden said.

Sewer expansion has been an issue in Marshall, with people questioning both the need for more public lines and the high cost of installing them.

About a half-dozen people wore T-shirts bearing the message "Join the Fight -- No Marshall Twp. Sewers" to the authority meeting last week.

Walter Opiela Jr., of Wexford Run, was one of those who remained skeptical. "Why are they disturbing something that's not a problem?" he said.

Township officials cite several arguments for expanding the public system.

In existing neighborhoods without sewers, many older septic systems will have to be replaced soon. People would be better off connecting to a sewer line than installing another on-lot system with a limited life. Septic systems also pose greater environmental risks, they said.

House construction is expected to continue in Marshall. Adoption of a township sewer plan would assure that lines were installed before development arrives in an area, Mr. McFadden said.