Birmingham Township supervisors will be drafting a letter to Chester County expressing displeasure with a proposed act that would set new standards for stormwater management.
Supervisors’ Chairman John Conklin and Vice Chairman Bill Kirkpatrick said Act 167, a countywide plan, would cost too much to implement, especially in a township that has had no significant development in more than a decade.
Kirkpatrick said it would cost $5,000 to $7,000 just to do a preliminary study, but then cost anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 to implement over a five-year period. Conklin said it could cost up to $400,000.
According to Conklin, “The EPA is raining down requirements, higher standards, for stormwater and for sewers. And it’s going to cost a lot of money and I have not seen any cost benefit to this. I find it difficult to tell the residents it’s worth the money.”
He said the only improvements he’s seen are too trivial to merit consideration.
Kirkpatrick added, “The standards are based on a theoretical reduction. The whole thing was modeled with no testing done on the Brandywine. And there are no objective standard to measure the standard that has been applied to this township.”
Conklin called it an interpretation of 1970’s law.
The act has not yet been passed, but a draft was sent to Chester County townships to get feedback. No details of Act 167 were discussed during the Nov. 19 Board of Supervisor, just the supervisors’ reactions and opinions. Supervisor Scott Boorse was not in attendance.
Other business
Supervisors authorized advertising the township’s proposed 2013 budget. The plan anticipates $1.3 million in spending with expected revenue — which includes more than $618,000 carried forward from this year — of $1.87 million. There is no tax increase. Supervisors are expected to vote on the budget during their Dec. 17 meeting.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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