Needed review of stormwater ordinance in Woodward Township OK’d
LINDEN — The Woodward Township supervisors voted Wednesday for a comprehensive review of the town’s stormwater ordinance at the recommendation of Zoning Administrator Gary Knarr.
“We have not updated the stormwater ordinance since 2011. My recommendation is to reach out to (Mid-Penn Engineering) and make sure it is in compliance with the current stormwater standards,” Knarr said.
Supervisors Alan Worth and Jack Coleman agreed and voted for the recommendation.
Due to the township’s size, Knarr said it is “under an exemption” and is not held to the Environmental Protection Agency’s municipal storm sewer requirements.
“We are currently under a waiver where we are not required to have a permit, so what we are doing is reviewing and updating our ordinance to make sure it is in compliance with state and federal government,” Knarr said.
The waiver was renewed last year and runs for five years. Despite this, the township still has guidelines to follow, such as staying within certain development requirements.
“There is a qualification we had to submit (to get the waiver),” Knarr said. The documentation for the waiver showed exactly how much stormwater drifted into the Susquehanna River from Woodward Township.
In another matter, Knarr said so far in 2018, the zoning board has issued 128 permits and nine seasonal permits.
In other news, Worth and Coleman agreed to designate Lycoming County as the lead agent for the 2020-24 bridge inspection program.”
The county will hire an engineer to inspect the township’s bridges, regardless of who owns them.
“They look at all the bridges,” Worth said. “They do an inspection to see if there are any deficiencies we need to address and they issue a report.”
Worth also noted the stormwater management appeals board has two vacant seats and the township zoning board has one vacant seat.
Supervisors Wayne Robinson was absent.