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DEP allows Lehman Township out of stormwater mandate

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Legislators announce millions in state grants

<p>Stormwater fee bills were mailed Tuesday to 11,012 commercial property owners in 32 municipalities participating in the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority&#8217;s regional pollution reduction plan, the authority announced.</p><p>The authority imposed the fee to fund projects that bring the municipalities in compliance with a federal pollution mandate so they won&#8217;t face fines.</p><p>Most of the commercial parcels are in the &#8220;tier three&#8221; fee group for those with at least 7,000 square feet of nonabsorbent impervious area, or IA, said Donna Gillis, authority public relations/regulatory liaison.</p><p>Tier three properties originally were set to be charged $1.70 per month for each 1,000 square foot of IA.</p><p>Due to a public outcry, the authority had approved some fee alterations. That included a new tier three charge of $4.80 per month for the first 6,999 square feet of IA and $1.70 for each 1,000 feet above that measurement.</p><p>In recent weeks, several larger commercial owners have said they are holding off on public statements about the new fee until they receive and review their bills. They are expecting lower bills because the authority&#8217;s original billing estimates had been tallied before the fee revision.</p><p>The authority had invited 172 commercial representatives to 29 advance billing group sessions last year that covered bill estimates and discussion about credit programs to reduce their fees, the authority said. In addition to businesses, representatives of higher education institutions, school districts, government agencies and nonprofits attended these sessions, Gillis said.</p><p>Unlike real estate taxes, nonprofits, colleges and universities, and government entities are not exempt from paying the stormwater fee.</p><p>Options to obtain fee credits include porous pavers in parking lots, modifications to stormwater retention basins to filter and hold back pollutants and sediment, the addition of riparian buffers and turf and landscape management programs.</p><p><strong>$1.3M in fees collected</strong></p><p>In a release issued Tuesday, authority Executive Director James Tomaine said the authority is committed to meeting unfunded mandates through &#8220;collaboration, efficiencies and ongoing communications with public stakeholders.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;While the stormwater management program was designed to ensure the most cost-effective approach for complying with these regulations, we&#8217;re cognizant of the financial strains this places on our communities and have made adjustments to mitigate those burdens,&#8221; Tomaine said in the release.</p><p>The other fee adjustments included a 15 percent credit for parcels outside urban areas, a 30 percent credit for &#8220;low-impact&#8221; parcels containing sizable portions of undeveloped land and the waiving of application fees for credits and appeal challenges.</p><p>The first round of stormwater fees for 90,440 residential properties were due March 15. The authority said it had issued bills for $1.9 million in this group and has collected $1.3 million in payments to date.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Based at this Hanover Township facility, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is handling stormwater management for 32 municipalities and issued bills Tuesday to commercial property owners. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL011219WVSA2-7.jpg</photo0><caption0>Based at this Hanover Township facility, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is handling stormwater management for 32 municipalities and issued bills Tuesday to commercial property owners. </caption0><photoCredit0>File photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Waiver for</strong></p><p><strong>Lehman, 2A</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority mails commercial stormwater fee bills