Click here to subscribe today or Login.
With time running out to avoid penalties, the owners of 67,481 residential properties have paid their stormwater fees, or 79.3 percent, according to analysis of a new Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority report.
The authority had temporarily extended the payment deadline for first and second quarter residential bills to June 5, saying the delay would give customers more time to become acclimated with the new fee and billing process, address unpaid balances and request property inspections that may reduce their fee.
The property owners are in 32 municipalities that joined a regional authority program to comply with a federal pollution reduction mandate, with funding for compliance projects coming from the stormwater fee based on nonabsorbent impervious area.
In total, the owners of 85,093 residential parcels were billed.
There are two categories of stormwater bill recipients: those who receive the bills with ones for wastewater treatment because they are existing authority customers, and those who receive only stormwater bills because they don’t rely on the authority for sewage services.
A total 56,281 of 68,606 bills were paid by existing customers as of May 31, or 82 percent, the report shows.
The payment was lower — 67.9 percent — for stormwater-only residential customers, with 11,200 bills paid out of 16,487, it said.
What happens for those who don’t pay?
An authority pamphlet said payment is due upon request “to avoid disruption to your water service or a lien against your property.”
Residential accounts not paid in full by 4 p.m. June 5 will incur a 10 percent penalty, which will be retroactive to Jan. 1 for first-quarter delinquencies, the authority has said.
Lagging payments
Of municipalities in the regional plan, Lehman Township has the lowest residential fee payment — 57.7 percent, the authority report shows.
Unlike other municipalities in the regional plan, Lehman has subsequently obtained a state waiver saying it does not have to meet the federal pollution reduction mandate, at least not within the next five years. In light of the waiver, township officials are working with the authority on options to withdraw from the group program at an undetermined cost or remain with other participants at a reduced rate.
Lehman officials recently issued a public notice encouraging township residents to pay their fees to avoid penalties, noting all three elected supervisors have paid their fee because the township is still fully in the program until a solution is reached.
Plymouth Township also has a residential fee payment percentage on the lower end — 59.2 percent for existing authority customers and 57.3 percent for stormwater-only ones, the report shows.
The payment is 58.1 percent in Pittston for stormwater-only customers but jumped to 80.4 percent for existing authority customers within city boundaries, it said.
On the other end, the following municipalities had residential payments above 90 percent by existing authority customers, the report said: Yatesville, 91.4 percent; West Wyoming, 90.4 percent; Forty Fort, 91 percent; and Exeter, 90.6 percent.
Township Supervisor Gale Conrad said her municipality has tried to educate residents about the fee, holding a public information session and making literature available at the municipal building.
The regional plan with a fee is the only feasible option because the township cannot get out of the pollution reduction mandate, Conrad said, noting township employees and elected officials also must pay.
Stressing she understands the distress the fee is causing, Conrad said she does not want property owners to get hit with higher costs or other ramifications due to nonpayment.
“It touches our heart to think that anyone could really lose what they have because of this fee,” Conrad said. “We hope for everything to work out for everybody.”
Lehman Township Marian DeAngelis, who is part of a group raising legal fund donations to contest the fee, said she and many others involved in the planned challenge have not paid the fee.
However, DeAngelis said her group would not dictate non-payment because each property owner should decide what’s best for them.
“It has to be a personal decision,” DeAngelis said. “You can pay the fee and still be part of the movement to challenge it.”
The authority also extended the deadline for commercial property owners, allowing no-penalty payment until July 3.
As of the end of May, 66.8 percent of the 12,529 bills issued in the commercial category had been paid, according to the authority. Commercial bills have different payment due dates than residential ones because they were mailed in a later batch, in part because the authority wanted to incorporate new credits and fee structure changes added in response to a public outcry.