Luzerne County Council to discuss state-requested pollution reduction plan

Luzerne County Council has been asked to develop a plan to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, but one local official stressed there would be no mandate to complete any of the projects or initiatives the county identifies.

County council is set to discuss the matter at Tuesday’s virtual work session, including the possible appointment of the Luzerne Conservation District to take the lead and a grant application for state funding to complete the plan.

Conservation District Executive Director Josh Longmore said Monday the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is spearheading the request, verified the plan is a “wish list” of clean water work local stakeholders would like to complete in coming years.

The state agency assured Longmore creation of the plan will not put the county or anyone else on the hook or lead to any ramifications if projects are not completed, he said.

This point must be emphasized, Longmore said, because many area property owners were hit with controversial stormwater fees to fund Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction projects in municipalities requiring municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4, permits because they have urbanized areas and drainage outlets discharging stormwater directly into waterways without first being treated.

“We asked very firmly and clearly at the beginning to verify that there is no mandate or requirement for this plan. We are not interested in additional mandates being placed on county residents,” Longmore said.

Counties that create plans are more likely to obtain grant funding to complete them, Longmore said.

“It could help prioritize these projects rather than having a scattershot approach to spreading grant money out there,” Longmore said.

Background

DEP is pushing for countywide plans as part of the overall federal requirement to reduce sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus in the Susquehanna and Potomac rivers, which drain into the bay, by 2025.

Luzerne is among 43 counties that fully or partially drain into the bay watershed, the state said. Four counties — York, Adams, Lancaster and Franklin — already have finalized their countywide action plans and are working to implement them, and four more are in the plan development process, the state said.

State guidance says the countywide plans will help identify needed funding and possible sources to pay for projects they advocate, which could include federal and state grants, cost-share programs, private funding and philanthropic grants for not-for-profit community groups.

If the state as a whole fails to meet cleanup goals by 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may “step in” and impose consequences that include: subjecting more livestock operations and municipalites to federal regulations, withholding or redirecting funding and implementing new stream-by-stream water quality standards or other requirements and responsibilities, it said.

Like Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, West Virginia and Virginia had to come up with Watershed Implementation Plans, or WIPs, on how they will meet their 2025 pollution reduction targets for the bay watershed. Pennsylvania’s WIP included countywide action plans.

A strong countywide action plan is a “great way to convince” EPA that it does not “need to expand MS4 in your area” and a channel for counties to clean up local waters, lower flood risks and improve the quality of life, the state said.

Grant funding

In a memo attached to Tuesday’s council agenda, DEP representative Joseph Buczynski said a combined $100,000 grant will be available to cover individual county plan costs in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, which have been grouped together for state planning purposes.

Dec. 14 is the deadline to seek the grant, he said.

“Aside from the time to participate in the planning process, there is no cost to your taxpayers,” Buczynski wrote.

Plans must be completed by next September, he said.

Longmore said he sees benefit in bringing together many local entities to plan water quality projects, including private developers, educational institutions and nonprofits. The Conservation District already focuses on agricultural best management practices and other initiatives to conserve land and water resources, he said.

The plan will help quantify pollutant reduction amounts yielded by various proposed projects, providing the state with an incentive to fund them to meet its Chesapeake Bay mandate, he said.

“If everyone is working together on these initiatives, it will get them to communicate and get on the same page,” Longmore said.

Council’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting, with directions on attending posted under council’s public meetings online section at luzernecounty.org.