Wyoming Valley Levee overseer cleared for $8M American Rescue award

The Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority received official confirmation Tuesday that it now officially has access to $8 million in county American Rescue Plan funds to improve the Wyoming Valley Levee along the Susquehanna River.

County Acting Manager Brian Swetz said he recently signed a formal agreement with the authority necessary to unlock the funds, which had been earmarked by county council a year ago.

“We’re very excited. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman. “Without the American Rescue funds, it would take the authority 20 years to do all these projects. Now we can do them in two years.”

Dominic Yannuzzi, chairman of the five-citizen authority board, said the funds will be put to good use along the 16-mile flood control system, which includes drainage structures, relief wells and pump stations.

“The authority and residents appreciate the time spent by the county administration and council in pulling together the agreement so the authority can fortify the levee system for the Wyoming Valley,” Yannuzzi said.

All American Rescue funding must be spent by the end of 2026, and Belleman said the authority already has embarked on an aggressive plan to tackle all work.

The flood authority’s projects include repairs to stormwater relief wells and pump stations.

Relief wells resemble metal trash cans above ground and act as valves to relieve water pressure that could compromise the levee. An authority contractor recently inspected and tested the wells, and Belleman said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing the results to determine which warrant repair or replacement.

Another planned project would replace expansion joints on the levee wall in Wilkes-Barre, similar to a past project on the wall in Forty Fort, Belleman has said. Joints filled with sealant were necessary to allow the concrete to expand and contract and prevent cracks.

The American Rescue funding also would be used as reimbursement for the authority’s replacement of a stormwater culvert adjacent to the levee in Kingston, Belleman has said. A decades-old pipe installed to collect runoff from the Pierce Street Bridge had deteriorated to the point that stormwater started getting into the levee.

Among other expenditures on the authority’s lengthy list are projects addressing levee closure structures and keeping the levee certified for flood insurance purposes.

Swetz said Tuesday he also has signed several other American Rescue allocation agreements that had been approved by county council before council voted to retain Booth Management Consulting last June.

That includes a $2 million allocation toward the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority’s construction and maintenance of a rain garden and stream bank restoration in exchange for an agreement the county won’t have to pay a stormwater fee until it uses up a $2 million fee credit.

Council also had earmarked $500,000 each to the blight-reducing Hazleton City Land Bank and North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority, which covers multiple Pittston area municipalities.