Delmont residents get chance to ask questions of stormwater authority

Delmont residents with questions about the borough’s newly formed stormwater authority can learn all about it at the group’s Wednesday meeting.

“I’ve had some neighbors coming up to me to ask about it,” said borough Councilwoman Krista Krautbauer. “They said what they’ve read makes it sound like it’s already a done deal.”

In terms of the authority’s formation, it is a done deal. The borough voted earlier this year to form the panel.

“The way the state regulations have come down, we need to deal with stormwater as a utility,” said Councilman and authority President Stan Cheyne. “All the pipes and work that (public works director) Bill Heaps and public works does needs to be to funded somewhere. Currently it’s coming out of the general fund, and it costs about $190,000 per year.”

Using general fund money to pay for stormwater work means it is funded strictly through property taxes, which do not apply equally across the board. By assessing a fee for stormwater and determining a specific way to calculate it, borough property owners would all pay their fair share toward stormwater improvements.

“The equity issue here is that nonprofits do not pay taxes,” borough solicitor Dan Hewitt said. “But they do pay their sewage bill, and they would need to pay this fee.”

Delmont is an MS4 — municipal separate storm sewer system — community. Communities with that designation must prevent a predetermined amount of pollutants and sediment from being conveyed to state waterways.

“The state takes a satellite image, and based on the amount of impervious surface, they estimate how much sediment we need to remove from water before it reaches our creeks and streams.,” Cheyne said. “With the authority, we can assess a fee and direct that money specifically to these projects, which in this case would free up about $190,000 in the general fund that could be used for something else.”

The method for calculating the stormwater fee has yet to be determined. The authority will meet next at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, in the Delmont borough building at 77 Greensburg St. The meetings are open to the public.

“Everybody loves our roads, our police, our public works, and all of that has seen a very steep increase in the past five to 10 years,” Cheyne said. “And unfortunately our real estate taxes are just not keeping up.”