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After nearly two years of review, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority may be close to obtaining state clearance to proceed with infrastructure projects funded by a new stormwater fee.

While design of some projects has been underway, the authority cannot advance to construction or seek other required government approvals until the state Department of Environmental Protection issues permits, officials have said.

“I can see light at the end of the tunnel here. We’re getting very close,” authority Executive Director James Tomaine said, estimating permits could be finalized around the end of August.

The authority submitted its proposed stormwater pollution reduction plan to the state in September 2017. It includes approximately 65 green infrastructure projects over five years at an estimated cost of $17 million, Tomaine said.

These projects were designed to lower specific targeted amounts of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus in the Susquehanna River, and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay, as mandated by the federal government, officials have said. Thirty-two municipalities in the Wyoming Valley signed up for the authority’s regional mandate compliance plan funded by a fee on property owners based on the nonabsorbant impervious area (IA) within their parcels.

The authority and its consultant — Harrisburg-based Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc., or HRG — have been meeting regularly with DEP representatives to focus on lingering questions and concerns, Tomaine said, stressing other entities are undergoing similar lengthy approval periods.

Authority Solicitor William Finnegan said he expected a grueling state review on this proposal because it contains larger, regional projects and covers multiple municipalities.

“They’re really looking at this as a model and want to make sure this approach is vetted,” Finnegan said of the state environmental protection agency.

Toby basin

A main source of debate was the authority’s proposed alterations to the giant Toby Creek detention basin in Pringle.

The sanitary authority wants to trap sediment by channeling water through a more meandering path inside the basin, slowing the flow. Deep-rooted shrubs also would be planted on the basin floor to soak up nitrogen and phosphorus.

The authority’s modeling concluded the basin project would prevent 3 million pounds of sediment from reaching local waterways annually.

However, DEP wants to limit the sediment reduction credit to around 400,000 pounds, the authority has said.

If their compromise proceeds as planned, the authority will receive credit for the lower amount with the option to receive more credit if it proves the completed project is keeping a greater quantity of sediment out of waterways, Tomaine said.

Exceeding the credit threshold could allow the authority to eliminate some other projects, but more projects must be completed if testing shows the sediment reduction target was not met, he said.

The basin project also hinges on authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the county Flood Protection Authority, which owns the basin. Army Corps’ approval may take an additional nine months to a year, and the authority did not want to officially seek its permission until the state signs off on the plan.

Flexibility

The project roster also may change if issues discovered during subsequent planning and design would make a project too costly, such as land acquisition prices or unforeseen concerns with hydrology or topography, Tomaine said.

In addition to the basin, the plan includes:

• Work in and along multiple streams and creeks to stop erosion

• Rain gardens that capture and filter runoff

• Stormwater parks that serve as both sponges for sizable runoff drainage areas and public recreation spaces

Once implemented, pollution reduction projects must be operated and maintained by the authority or partner entities to ensure they continue to function properly and produce expected results, the plan said, noting all such upkeep must be documented in annual reports.

Three pilot projects are in final design, with the goal of starting construction in spring 2020, Tomaine said.

These projects: a rain garden at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center in Plains Township, a stormwater park in Plains Township on land provided by the municipality and stream restoration along Spring Run in Hanover Township between West Liberty Street and Solomon Creek.

Wilkes-Barre-based Borton-Lawson’s summaries and video simulations of two pilot projects have been posted on the stormwater management section of the authority’s website, wvsa.org.

Borton-Lawson’s video of the stormwater park shows a rain garden and meadow area, an athletic field parking lot containing a vegetated island and permeable pavement and a water drainage basin called a “wet pond” nestled among trees near Hill Street.

Tomaine
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_tomaine.jpeg.jpg.optimal.jpgTomaine

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

[email protected]

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