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<p>U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser is still calling for suspension of a new stormwater fee until more clarity is provided to Wyoming Valley area property owners who must pay it, he said in a release issued Wednesday.</p><p>Meuser, R-Dallas, said he sent a letter on March 29 to acting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler seeking answers to a series of questions about the fee but has not yet received an answer.</p><p>According to his letter and release:</p><p>Meuser asked Wheeler for documentation showing what pollution reduction metrics Pennsylvania promised to complete, when that promise was made and which officials signed off on that commitment.</p><p>He also sought data showing the state has failed to meet those requirements and what actions the state must take to successfully comply.</p><p>Other questions focused on a &#8220;lack of consistency,&#8221; with Meuser asking why residents in some counties are being required to make more corrections than others and how Pennsylvania compares to other states.</p><p>He pointed to the &#8220;wastewater dump in Binghamton, New York,&#8221; questioning whether that data was factored into the federal government&#8217;s determination that Pennsylvania is &#8220;behind&#8221; in pollution reduction compliance.</p><p>More than 100 million gallons of untreated New York wastewater has been discharged into the Susquehanna River since August 2018, according to analysis of the state&#8217;s records.</p><p>New York officials have said discharges occur when the sanitary system is overwhelmed and only a certain amount of wastewater can be treated. A wastewater treatment facility co-owned by Binghamton and Johnson City was inundated by Susquehanna flooding in September 2011 and has been undergoing renovations since then, they have said.</p><p>&#8220;Once again, I emphasize, until these questions are answered &#8211; the corrective measures being demanded of my constituents are unjustified,&#8221; Meuser wrote.</p><p>He also noted alternative funding initiatives are being explored at the state and federal levels.</p><p>&#8220;Demanding taxpayers shoulder this financial burden without first exhausting all alternative measures is wrong, and these requirements and fees should be suspended at least until these questions are answered,&#8221; Meuser wrote.</p><p>Meuser had previously penned a letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection on Feb. 13 calling for suspension of the new fee pending more information for payers.</p><p>While the state agency is not mandating a stormwater fee, it set new pollution reduction standards that must be met by municipalities with municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4, permits.</p><p>Thirty-two local municipalities signed up for a regional MS4 compliance program managed by the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, although Lehman Township obtained a state waiver and is trying to withdraw. The authority imposed the stormwater fee to cover compliance expenses. Municipal officials supporting the regional plan have argued going solo would force their property owners to pay more through real estate taxes.</p><p>Three Back Mountain municipalities opted to obtain compliance through the Dallas Area Municipal Authority, which opted for a flat stormwater fee in 2019 and plans to convert to one based on nonabsorbent impervious area, or IA, in 2020.</p><p>Wyoming Valley Sanitary officials have said they can&#8217;t halt the fee because they made a commitment to participating municipalities so they don&#8217;t face state noncompliance fines. The authority unsuccessfully sought a state compliance deadline delay and sent Meuser a letter in February asking him for help seeking funding for projects to reduce the burden on stormwater fee payers.</p><p><em>Times Leader staff writer Ed Lewis contributed to this report.</em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Meuser </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Meuser_Dan_cropped.jpg</photo0><caption0>Meuser </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>

Meuser still pressing for stormwater fee answers