Two stormwater fee matters up for Luzerne County Council discussion Tuesday

Two stormwater fee matters are up for discussion at Tuesday’s Luzerne County Council work session, with a vote required at a future meeting for the plans to take effect.

In the first, the county administration has negotiated a proposed agreement with the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority to significantly reduce its stormwater fee.

The second item is a proposed $15 million American Rescue Plan earmark to fund projects that could reduce stormwater fees for all property owners participating in regional pollution reduction programs managed by the WVSA and the Dallas Area Municipal Authority in the Back Mountain.

County fee

The county government stormwater fee is approximately $192,653 annually.

According to the proposed partnership agreement with the WVSA, the county would be entitled to an $81,625 credit annually through 2024 by providing the following rights and services to the authority:

• Unlimited use of any county GIS/Mapping data and access to records in the county’s prothonotary, deeds, assessment and zoning/planning offices, including record copies.

• A subscription to the county’s Landex program used to provide public access to deeds and other records, with printing capabilities.

• Two copies of the county’s annual certified deed book.

• Fully implemented capability for the WVSA to electronically file municipal liens and lien satisfactions and a WVSA filing fee of $10 per lien.

• Ability for the WVSA to use county-owned property for education and outreach events at times and locations agreeable to both parties.

• Permission for the WVSA to construct and maintain a rain garden at the county-owned sports/recreation complex in Forty Fort.

• Access and authority for the WVSA to complete and maintain stream bank restoration on county land along Abrahams Creek in Forty Fort.

The county fee reduction is warranted because the regional program won’t have to pay for these services and access rights, it said.

In addition, the county will receive a $77,061 credit because it is required to meet its own separate stormwater requirements.

Municipalities participating in the WVSA regional compliance program have municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4, permits requiring them to lower sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus washed into the Susquehanna River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

The county also has a non-municipal MS4 permit with different compliance measures for county property, including training of some staffers and the completion of certain reports and ordinances.

Finally, the authority will waive the county’s unpaid stormwater fees for 2019, 2020 and 2021 in consideration of the benefits the county is providing to the program, it said.

After factoring in all credits under the proposed new partnership agreement, the county would be responsible for paying $33,967 annually in 2022, 2023 and 2024, it said.

The agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019 and expires the end of 2024. Posted as an attachment to Tuesday’s council work session agenda at luzernecounty.org, the agreement includes provisions on how credits would be calculated after 2024.

Fee for all

County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo first proposed the idea in July to use a portion of the American Rescue funding to help stabilize or reduce all stormwater fee payments.

The administration is now recommending that county council members allocate $15 million for this purpose, based on its subsequent review of the new final federal funding rules and other proposed uses for the American Rescue funding.

If council eventually agrees to the $15 million allocation, Crocamo said specific regional pollution reduction projects will be publicly presented to council as plans unfold.

Crocamo said Monday the credits obtained for these projects must help with fees in municipalities covered by the WVSA and DAMA pollutant reduction programs.

“The ultimate goal of the administration is to make sure that any benefit goes to the residents,” Crocamo said.

Council’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.