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Palmyra Twp. (Pike) —
The Pa. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is contemplating raising the standards for certain streams within the Wallenpaupack Creek Basin, from the dam to the headwaters.
At the December 14th board meeting of the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD), Administrator Nick Spinelli advised what this may mean for sections DEP wants to give extra protection.
The streams currently are listed as High Quality Cold Water Fisheries (HQCWF) which carry a lengthy list of regulations. This is second to the highest and most stringent designation, Exceptional Value (EV) waters.
Spinelli said that the only difference between them is that the High Quality waters allows for showing “socioeconomic justification” to permit projects that may degrade the stream through discharges from sewer plants or storm water.
This would not be allowed in the stricter EV watershed. Spinelli added that socio-economic justification is nevertheless very difficult to attain for projects in a HQCWF watershed.
Segments which are proposed for re-designation are mostly on the Wayne County side or in Monroe County. There is one tributary wholly within Pike County included.
Specifically targeted for the EV designation:
• Butternut Creek Basin, Dreher Twp., Wayne County
• Wallenpaupack Creek segments including Manny Run in Dreher , Greene and Barrett townships; Taylor Creek, 17 Mile Creek and several unnamed tributaries to Manny Run
• Sand Spring Creek, a tributary to Mill Brook near Shiny Mountain Road and Tanglwood Lakes, Palmyra Twp. (Pike).
A citizen’s group typically petitions for a stream to be upgraded, or DEP may take the initiative after water sampling shows the exceptional value of a stream should be protected further. The Pa. Environmental Quality Board (EQB) takes public input, and renders a decision.
Once a stream is reclassified as EV, he said that land development is not stopped, but rather may be required to have higher degree of management of discharges or runoff to keep the waters pure. The designation also affects ponds, lakes and wetlands within the watershed of the designated stream.
Eric Ehhrardt, a member of the LWWMD Board and also a Palmyra Twp. (Pike) Supervisor, expressed concern over the proposal. He noted that state laws are always changing, and land use if already impacted by newly enacted Chapter 102. This is the state’s regulation for erosion and sedimentation and storm water controls. The amended regulation requires a costly permit for a landowner planning to disturb one acre or more, and a riparian buffer zone 150 feet from any stream, where land disturbance will be prohibited in perpetuity.
LWWMD board member Peter Snyder advised that as a group, the District should not oppose an effort to further protect water quality, which is their core mission.
DEP published the proposed re-designations for these and other streams throughout Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, Oct. 2. Public comments may be sent to Tony Shaw, Division of Water Quality Standards, Bureau of Water Standards, Bureau of Water Standards & Facility Regulation, P.O. Box 8467, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8467, tshaw@state.pa.us.
The Pa. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is contemplating raising the standards for certain streams within the Wallenpaupack Creek Basin, from the dam to the headwaters.
At the December 14th board meeting of the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD), Administrator Nick Spinelli advised what this may mean for sections DEP wants to give extra protection.
The streams currently are listed as High Quality Cold Water Fisheries (HQCWF) which carry a lengthy list of regulations. This is second to the highest and most stringent designation, Exceptional Value (EV) waters.
Spinelli said that the only difference between them is that the High Quality waters allows for showing “socioeconomic justification” to permit projects that may degrade the stream through discharges from sewer plants or storm water.
This would not be allowed in the stricter EV watershed. Spinelli added that socio-economic justification is nevertheless very difficult to attain for projects in a HQCWF watershed.
Segments which are proposed for re-designation are mostly on the Wayne County side or in Monroe County. There is one tributary wholly within Pike County included.
Specifically targeted for the EV designation:
• Butternut Creek Basin, Dreher Twp., Wayne County
• Wallenpaupack Creek segments including Manny Run in Dreher , Greene and Barrett townships; Taylor Creek, 17 Mile Creek and several unnamed tributaries to Manny Run
• Sand Spring Creek, a tributary to Mill Brook near Shiny Mountain Road and Tanglwood Lakes, Palmyra Twp. (Pike).
A citizen’s group typically petitions for a stream to be upgraded, or DEP may take the initiative after water sampling shows the exceptional value of a stream should be protected further. The Pa. Environmental Quality Board (EQB) takes public input, and renders a decision.
Once a stream is reclassified as EV, he said that land development is not stopped, but rather may be required to have higher degree of management of discharges or runoff to keep the waters pure. The designation also affects ponds, lakes and wetlands within the watershed of the designated stream.
Eric Ehhrardt, a member of the LWWMD Board and also a Palmyra Twp. (Pike) Supervisor, expressed concern over the proposal. He noted that state laws are always changing, and land use if already impacted by newly enacted Chapter 102. This is the state’s regulation for erosion and sedimentation and storm water controls. The amended regulation requires a costly permit for a landowner planning to disturb one acre or more, and a riparian buffer zone 150 feet from any stream, where land disturbance will be prohibited in perpetuity.
LWWMD board member Peter Snyder advised that as a group, the District should not oppose an effort to further protect water quality, which is their core mission.
DEP published the proposed re-designations for these and other streams throughout Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, Oct. 2. Public comments may be sent to Tony Shaw, Division of Water Quality Standards, Bureau of Water Standards, Bureau of Water Standards & Facility Regulation, P.O. Box 8467, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8467, tshaw@state.pa.us.
