web1_Hayward.croppedCMYK.jpg

Former Wilkes-Barre employee Hayward facing opposition against reinstating law license

web1_Maria-Heck.CMYK_.jpg

Life Deconstructed: My cookie, Denise

<p>Commercial property owners will have more time to pay their first-quarter stormwater fee bills without penalty, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority announced Wednesday.</p><p>The authority had provided a similar temporary extension earlier this month for residential bills to give customers more time to become acclimated with the new fee and billing process, address unpaid balances and request property inspections that may reduce their fee.</p><p>First-quarter commercial bills were due April 29, but the authority is now allowing no-penalty payment until 4 p.m. July 3.</p><p>More than half of the 12,875 bills issued in the commercial category have been paid to date, according to the authority.</p><p>There are two categories of stormwater bill recipients: those who receive the bills with ones for wastewater treatment because they are existing authority customers, and those who receive only stormwater bills because they don&#8217;t rely on the authority for sewage services.</p><p>The tally of paid, first-quarter commercial bills as of Wednesday, based on authority figures:</p><p>&#8226; Existing stormwater customers &#8212; 8,078 billed and 4,630 paid, or 57.3 percent.</p><p>&#8226; Stormwater-only customers &#8212; 4,797 billed and 2,508 paid, or 52.3 percent.</p><p>Second-quarter bills will be mailed to commercial property owners beginning May 7. A retroactive 10 percent penalty will be added to bills that remain unpaid after July 3, the authority said.</p><p>Commercial bills have different payment due dates than residential ones because they were mailed in a later batch, in part because the authority wanted to incorporate new credits and fee structure changes added in response to a public outcry.</p><p>Most commercial properties are in the highest third tier with at least 7,000 square feet of nonabsorbent impervious area, or IA.</p><p>The authority changed the formula for third-tier properties. It initially planned to charge $1.70 per month for each 1,000 square foot of nonabsorbent impervious area, or IA. Instead, owners are being charged $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>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>As previously announced, residential property owners won&#8217;t be penalized for late stormwater fee payments if they pay their first and second quarter bills by June 5.</p><p>A total 53,632 of 68,643 first-quarter residential bills were paid by existing wastewater customers as of Wednesday, or 78.1 percent, the authority said.</p><p>The payment was 63.9 percent for stormwater-only residential customers, with 10,565 bills paid out of 16,536.</p><p><strong>Public meeting</strong></p><p>Fee payers who have questions about their payments or the authority&#8217;s regional stormwater management program are invited to a &#8220;Sharing Solutions to Stormwater Management&#8221; open house event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 13 at the Holiday Inn East Mountain in Plains Township, the authority also announced Wednesday.</p><p>The authority imposed the fee to fund projects that bring participating municipalities in compliance with a federal pollution mandate so they won&#8217;t face fines. Thirty-two municipalities signed up for the regional program, although Lehman Township has obtained a mandate waiver from the state and is trying to withdraw.</p><p>In part, the event was scheduled because the mandate requires municipalities to provide public education and outreach about stormwater management.</p><p>At the open house, information will be available about municipal projects designed to reduce stormwater pollutants entering local waterways and work property owners can complete to earn fee credits.</p><p>Authority stormwater staffers also will be available to answer questions about the fee, bills and IA assessments.</p><p>Attendees also can sign up to win a rain barrel.</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/2019/05/web1_TTL011219WVSA2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority in Hanover Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL011219WVSA2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority in Hanover Township. </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>

Stormwater fee payment deadline extended for commercial property owners