web1_Todd-Fischer-03272019.jpg

Plains man jailed without bail for possessing stolen property

web1_TTL011219WVSA2.jpg

Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority mails commercial stormwater fee bills

<p>Lehman Township does not have to comply with a stormwater mandate because it has obtained a waiver from the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, officials said.</p><p>The township is among 32 municipalities that had signed up to participate in a regional compliance plan managed by the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, which has imposed a stormwater fee to cover pollution reduction expenses.</p><p>The mandate applies to municipalities requiring MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) permits because they have both urbanized areas determined by U.S. Census data and separate storm sewer systems that discharge directly into waterways without first being treated.</p><p>Lehman Township supervisors applied for a waiver last month, saying they believed township residents were &#8220;being treated unfairly&#8221; by the authority&#8217;s fee structure, even after fee alterations to lessen the burden, according to township Supervisor Chairman Dave Sutton and an online posting he had issued on behalf of supervisors.</p><p>Through new research, the township discovered mapping changes showing the portion of East Fork Harveys Creek that runs through the township is not impaired, Sutton has said. Township engineering studies also concluded the type of pollutants in the creek stem from discharge from a sewage treatment plant at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas &#8212; not stormwater, he has said.</p><p>The township also meets a waiver requirement for the population of an urbanized area to be less than 1,000, Sutton has said. The 2010 Census tallied 877 people, and recent township analysis concluded the count is just over 900, he said.</p><p>DEP informed the township March 20 it has approved a waiver for five years.</p><p>Agency spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said Tuesday the municipality qualified for exemption due to its population and the &#8220;absence of an impairment&#8221; of the nearby portion of Harveys Creek within its boundary.</p><p>Sutton said Tuesday night the township is pleased with the state&#8217;s decision. The township&#8217;s legal counsel will immediately request termination of its agreement with the authority to participate in the regional plan, he said.</p><p>Authority Executive Director James Tomaine said Tuesday that the township sought the waiver after &#8220;voluntarily committing both legally and financially&#8221; with 31 other municipalities to participate in the regional plan.</p><p>&#8220;Until Lehman Township initiates steps to discharge its legal and financial obligations to its municipal partners and the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Lehman Township continues to be legally and financially committed&#8221; to the regional program, Tomaine said.</p><p>Sutton is optimistic township and authority solicitors will reach a swift and amicable resolution.</p><p>Lehman officials had considered a waiver in the fall of 2017 but did not believe they would be successful falling within 5 miles of an impaired waterway, Sutton has said. They signed up for the authority&#8217;s regional plan to avoid a &#8220;huge tax increase&#8221; because it was estimated the township would have had to pay more than $3 million over five years to comply with the pollution reduction mandates, he has said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_DEP-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_DEP-2.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

DEP allows Lehman Township out of stormwater mandate