In the News

Hanover Township Manager Sam Guesto on Thursday recalled a promise U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright made at a holiday party in 2019 regarding available funding for stormwater infrastructure improvements.

Guesto, chairman of the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority board, said Cartwright made good on that promise yesterday.

“Merry Christmas,” Cartwright, D-Moosic, said to Guesto after he announced an $848,440 grant for the WVSA to support those needed stormwater infrastructure improvements that are expected to enhance the quality of the Susquehanna River watershed and reduce the burden on some 31 communities to pay for these projects.

Cartwright, D-Moosic, made the announcement at the WVSA administrative offices in Kingston.

“This is a critical investment in keeping pollution out of our area’s waterways, and it will help make our Luzerne County communities healthier,” Cartwright said. “Our area’s homeowners have been footing the bill for this work for too long, and I am fighting to bring federal funding for it because it can help reduce the burden on them over time. I’ll keep working on the (House) Appropriations Committee to bring more federal dollars home for these important projects.”

James B. Tomaine. P.E., WVSA executive director, said WVSA will apply the $848,440 grant to implement green infrastructure demonstration projects, form a stormwater steering committee, assess to municipal codes and policies to remove implementation barriers, and provide education and training to local partners for design and construction of stormwater infrastructure improvements.

“We greatly appreciate Rep. Cartwright’s success in obtaining essential funding that will help reduce Green Infrastructure Project costs,” Tomaine said . “We look forward to future collaborations with Rep. Cartwright that will benefit local communities and our continuing implementation of the Regional Stormwater Management Program (RSMP).”

Tomaine aid the seven retrofit projects to receive funding under the grant are:

• Donna’s Way Basin, Exeter Borough
• Motorworld Basin, Plains Township
• Townsend Ave Basin, Swoyersville
• Slocum Street Basin, Swoyersville
• Creek Street Basin, Swoyersville
• Wyndtree Oaks Basin, Plains Township
• Wyoming Valley Mall Basin, Plains Township

Tomaine said the WVSA will have to match the funding with $1.2 million for the projects.

Tomaine explained that the storm runoff water is captured in the natural basins to reduce the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment before it enters streams that feed into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced $9.6 million in grants to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 11 grants — the WVSA grant being one — will leverage more than $28 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of nearly $38 million.

The grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant Program (INSR Program), a core program under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF).

Renee Reber, Campaign Manager for Watershed Advocacy for PennFuture, said clean water is essential for healthy communities and healthy residents.

“Unfortunately, clean water isn’t always a reality for some Pennsylvania residents,” Reber said. “The grant being announced today will help change that by providing critical funding for stormwater infrastructure projects.”

Reber said PennFuture and the Choose Clean Water Coalition applaud the Cartwright’s leadership in addressing stormwater management and support for clean water.

“Since arriving in Washington D.C. the Congressman has solidified himself as a champion of environmental and conservation issues, and he should be applauded for that,” Reber said.

Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, invoked the names of U.S. Rep. Joe McDade of Scranton and U.S. Rep. Dan Flood of Wilkes-Barre, who both served on the House Appropriations Committee throughout their lengthy careers.

“Nobody expects a member of Congress to fix the economy,” Cartwright said. “But we must do all we can to improve our economy. It’s my responsibility to see that our area receives its fair share. We need it. And if we don’t get it, it will surely go someplace else.”

Cartwright said he worked with WVSA to secure this $848,440 grant funded by the Chesapeake Bay Program to allow them to continue work on stormwater infrastructure improvements, protecting the water quality in the Susquehanna River watershed.

The WVSA provides water amenity services for a 400 square mile area in Luzerne County and collaborates with 31 municipalities to improve water quality in the region through its stormwater program.