(York) -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark a midstate wastewater treatment facility's upgrade to its 22-year-old energy system, with some help from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The York Wastewater Treatment Plant received a $500,000 grant from the DEP to fund eight microturbines to produce power. Steve Douglas, the plant's general manager, says the new machines are expected to be healthier for the environment. "The cogeneration system was producing about, on average, annually, about 70 tons of air pollutants, carbon monoxide, and that sort of thing," he says. "We did a comparison. When the turbines run on natural gas, they would emit about 500 pounds of the same pollutants." Douglas adds the $4.5 million system is expected to produce energy more efficiently and at a cheaper operating cost than the old machines. The microturbines use methane and other types of gas to power the facility.