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Their view: Salt’s effects on waterways not very nice

The Latest: DePaul-St. John's men's basketball game put off

WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced this week that 22 projects to clean up waters in the state&rsquo;s Northeast region have been selected to collectively receive more than $5 million in funding through DEP&rsquo;s Growing Greener program.
				&ldquo;Growing Greener awardees help keep Pennsylvania clean,&rdquo; said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. &ldquo;It is imperative that communities in Pennsylvania receive the necessary funding to reduce pollutants in area waterways.&rdquo;
				Statewide, more than $34 million has been awarded to fund 149 projects to clean up waters. Grantees have up to three years to implement their projects from the award date.
				Luzerne County projects: $1.46M
				&#8226; Harveys Lake Borough, Hydrilla Eradication and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Monitoring and Management, $266,570.
				&#8226; Luzerne Conservation District, Toby Creek Watershed Restoration Projects, $268,906.
				&#8226; Luzerne Conservation District, Huntington Creek Watershed Agricultural Best Management Practice Project, $375,315.
				&#8226; Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Warrior Creek Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MD4) Stream Restoration, $433,000.
				&#8226; Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Gardner Creek MS4 Stream Restoration, $116,875.
				Growing Greener is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania&rsquo;s history to address Pennsylvania&rsquo;s critical environmental concerns of the 21st century.
				Growing Greener has helped to slash the backlog of farmland-preservation projects statewide, protect open space, eliminate the maintenance backlog in state parks, clean up abandoned mines and restore watersheds, provide funds for recreational trails and local parks, help communities address land use, and provide new and upgraded water and sewer systems.
				Other NEPA projects
				Lehigh County (2)
				&#8226; Lehigh County Conservation District, Cedar Creek Enhancement, South Whitehall Township, $60,375.
				&#8226; Wildlands Conservancy Inc., Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River Watershed Landowner Outreach Phase II, $88,500.
				Monroe County (2)
				&#8226; Brodhead Watershed Association, Determination of Cause and Significance of Elevated in Forest Hills Run and Yankee Run, $10,478.
				&#8226; Monroe County Conservation District, Sand Spring Stream Bank Restoration Project, $911,400.
				Montour, Bradford, Clinton, Columbia (1)
				&#8226; Columbia County Conservation District, Multi-County Soil Health 2020-2023, $447,380.
				Northampton County (3)
				&#8226; Forks Township, Ramblewood Basin Retrofit, $163,180.
				&#8226; Friends of Johnston, Inc., Johnston Preserve Stormwater Management Engineering and Permitting, $94,016.
				&#8226; Plainfield Township, Little Bushkill Stream Restoration, $100,000.
				Philadelphia, Lehigh, Bucks, Lackawanna, Monroe (1)
				&#8226; The Academy of Natural Sciences, Headwater Climate Resilience, $162,591.
				Pike, Wayne, Lackawanna, Monroe (1)
				&#8226; Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Mgmt. District, Environmentally Sensitive Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program for Community Associations, $500,000.
				Schuylkill County (2)
				&#8226; Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association, Packer 5 Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Treatment Project Design, $165,434.
				&#8226; Schuylkill Conservation District, Mahantango High Farms Best Management Practices (BMPs), $750,500.
				Schuylkill, Franklin, Adams, Erie, Crawford, Warren (1)
				&#8226; The Pennsylvania State University, Furthering the Master Watershed Steward Program in Pennsylvania, $162,422.
				Wayne, Pike, Lackawanna, Monroe (1)
				&#8226; Wayne Conservation District, Northeast Region Nutrient Management Plan Reimbursement Program, $242,000.
				Wyoming County (3)
				&#8226; Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association, Inc., Mehoopany Creek - Windy Valley and North Branch - Restoration Maintenance Project, $150,000.
				&#8226; Wyoming County Conservation District, Controlling Nutrients within a High-Quality Watershed, $80,731.
				&#8226; Wyoming County Conservation District, Nutrient/Sediment Pollution Reduction Initiative, $31,555.
				Statewide (4)
				&#8226; Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc, PA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, $1,522,910.
				&#8226; Pennsylvania Lake Management Society, Implementation of Lake BMPs Project IV, $468,790.
				&#8226; Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation Development Council, Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds (C-SAW) X, $703,638.
				&#8226; Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Quick Response 9: Fiscal Management for Repair of Growing Greener Projects, $200,000.
				DEP is authorized to allocate these funds in grants for watershed restoration and protection, abandoned mine reclamation, and abandoned oil and gas well plugging projects.
				Three other agencies also received funds to distribute for appropriate projects: the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to administer farmland preservation projects, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for state park renovations and improvements, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority for water and sewer system upgrades.
				Toohil requests deadline
				extension for rebate program
				Citing concern that many older residents will fail to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to apply for relief through Pennsylvania&rsquo;s 2019 Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program, Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, this week requested a one-month extension to submit applications to the Department of Revenue.
				In an email sent to Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell, Toohil explained that her office staff assists seniors in filling out the application, but that has been difficult this year due to the pandemic as many older residents are following social distancing guidelines. She said the extra time is needed to enable them to apply for a rebate.
				&ldquo;Constituents are subjecting themselves to an unnecessary risk by coming in-person to the legislative offices. Many of them do not have a family member to process the application for them. Further, they live on fixed incomes and benefit from the financial assistance this program provides,&rdquo; wrote Toohil. &ldquo;They have been impacted this year by COVID-I9, and we would like to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to apply for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program.&rdquo;
				The program benefits eligible Pennsylvanian residents age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded. The maximum standard rebate is $650, but supplemental rebates for certain qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975.
				The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and revenue from slots gaming.
				PennDOT extends expiration dates
				 on commercial licenses and permits
				The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced this week that expiration dates for commercial driver licenses and commercial learner&rsquo;s permits will be extended for Pennsylvania residents in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
				The following products&rsquo; expiration dates will be extended:
				&#8226; The expiration date for a commercial learner&rsquo;s permit scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020, through February 22, 2021, is extended through Feb. 22, 2021.
				&#8226; The expiration date for commercial driver licenses scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020, through February 22, 2021, is extended through Feb. 22, 2021.
				&#8226; Expiration extension deadlines on non-commercial driver license, photo identification cards, learner&rsquo;s permits and camera cards ended on Aug. 31, 2020.
				For a list of open driver license and photo license centers and the services provided, as well as their hours of operation, please visit www.dmv.pa.gov.
				PEMA urging all to &lsquo;Resolve
				to be Ready&rsquo; for emergencies
				As Pennsylvanians&rsquo; attention turns to a fresh start in the new year, PA Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Randy Padfield and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine are urging citizens to &ldquo;Resolve to be Ready&rdquo; in 2021 by creating family emergency plans and emergency kits.
				&ldquo;After an unprecedented year of getting on with our lives amidst a pandemic, many Pennsylvanians could easily start to feel burnt-out or ignore other important risks that we face in our communities,&rdquo; Padfield said. &ldquo;While those threats shift between severe weather, flooding, fires and more, we know that the single, most effective way to ensure the safety of our loved ones is to have a plan and follow it. Staying informed and being prepared are critical elements of emergency response.&rdquo;
				Padfield said to create an emergency plan, you should:
				&#8226; Identify locations in both your community and in a nearby town, where you can meet loved ones;
				&#8226; Identify an out-of-town contact everyone can check in with;
				&#8226; Text or use social media to let others know you are safe and where you are;
				&#8226; Have hard copies of lists of phone numbers and other important information such as doctor&rsquo;s offices as well as copies of important documents;
				&#8226; Practice your plan just like you would a fire drill.

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DEP announces more than $5M for local water clean-up projects