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Lehman Township may work out an agreement to remain in the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority’s regional stormwater compliance program at a reduced rate, a municipal official said.

The township is among 32 municipalities that joined the group program to comply with their federal pollution reduction mandate, with funding for compliance projects coming from a new stormwater fee on property owners based on nonabsorbent impervious area.

But Lehman is in a unique situation because it subsequently obtained a state waiver saying the municipality doesn’t have to meet the federal mandate, at least not within the next five years.

While the possibility of the municipality withdrawing is still on the table, township Supervisor Chairman Dave Sutton said a concept is now under discussion that would allow the township to pay a reduced rate to stay in the regional program and end the stormwater fee for township property owners. Reimbursement also would be issued to property owners for fees paid to date, he said.

“This mandate is evolving, and we are concerned that if we get out of the program, we may not be able to get back in,” Sutton wrote in an online update on the township website, adding that residents could face “substantial” long-term costs if the waiver is not renewed after five years or if the mandate requirements change.

The mandate applies to municipalities requiring MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) permits because they have both urbanized areas determined by U.S. Census data and separate storm sewer systems that discharge directly into waterways without first being treated.

Due to its waiver, Lehman no longer requires an MS4 permit.

All municipalities choosing the regional program had to enter into intergovernmental cooperation agreements to comply with their MS4 permits. Lehman officials had signed an agreement before obtaining the waiver, and there is no procedure in these agreements for a municipality to withdraw, Sutton said.

Township officials still requested removal, realizing the township would have to “bear its portion” of the regional program costs incurred to date.

The authority is in the process of calculating what it concludes Lehman would have to pay to get out of the program and reimburse township residents for fees to date, Sutton said.

In light of the new possibility to keep Lehman in the program, the sanitary authority board voted last week to research options for regional plan participation by municipalities that are not MS4 permit holders.

The authority’s stormwater committee was granted permission to “undertake all steps necessary to finalize and implement such option if deemed in the best interests of the regional program,” the board decided.

Sutton said he and the township’s attorney recently had a “very productive” meeting with the authority about the situation, with both agreeing that resorting to legal action to resolve the matter should be a “last resort.”

“I was hoping that this matter would be resolved by now, but after listening to both attorneys at our meeting, I understand why it will take a little more time,” Sutton wrote in his update.

Residents are required to pay the stormwater fee because the township is still in the regional program, Sutton said.

He and the other two supervisors — Ray Iwanowski and Douglas Ide — have paid their fees, and township supervisors encouraged other residents to consider paying their first and second quarter bills by June 5 to avoid penalties.

At the recent authority meeting, both sides agreed to attempt to find a solution before the third quarter bills are due, he said, thanking the authority for “showing a willingness to try to resolve this matter.”

“If one good thing came out of this whole situation, it’s the fact that many of our residents got involved. Without your input we would never have made the last successful attempt to apply for the MS4 waiver,” Sutton wrote.

Lehman officials had considered a waiver in fall 2017 but did not believe they would be successful falling within 5 miles of an impaired waterway, Sutton has said.

They proceeded with an application in February, pointing to new research showing the portion of East Fork Harveys Creek that runs through the township is not impaired, he has said. The township also successfully argued its population is just over 900, which meets a waiver requirement for the population of an urbanized area to be less than 1,00o.

The state Department of Environmental Protection informed the township March 20 it had approved a waiver for five years.

Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority in Hanover Township
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_TTL011219WVSA2.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Valley Sanitary Authority in Hanover Township

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

[email protected]

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.