Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority and executive director Jim Tomaine have received one of the 2018 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence in the category of Building Community Partnerships.
The authority was the lone award recipient from Luzerne County.
Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said its determination to create a better quality of life for northeastern Pennsylvania residents is the reason why it was selected for the honor.
“The WVSA Regional Stormwater Management Project represents the most comprehensive environmental project in northeastern Pennsylvania in the last 40 years and it couldn’t have been done without the unwavering leadership of Jim Tomaine,” Yudichak said.
Twelve communities and seven individuals from across the state were recognized for excellent service as part of the 22nd Annual Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence.
Yudichak said the WVSA has been providing wastewater treatment services for Luzerne County since 1962 and is now spearheading the stormwater project.
More than 30 municipalities serviced by the WVSA will be collaborating on the venture. The goal is to reduce pollution deposited into the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. Yudichak said Tomaine is in charge of the project, which is expected to save the region $57 million over the next five years and $247 million over the next two decades.
