[EAC Minutes heading]

Schuylkill Township
Environmental Advisory Council
 MEETING DATE: September 27, 2011

Present: EAC Members:  Steve Kunz, Earl Cram, Doug White, Jerry O’Dell.    
Board of Supervisors (BOS): Jim Morrisson, Laurie Williams.
Township Residents:  Lorri Sarosy, Monica Ryan, Dave Wright.
Also Attending: Richard Breitenstein, Environmental Protection Compliance Specialist, PA Department of Environmental Protection.

Meeting called to order at 7:40 pm.

EAC Meeting Summary:  Hard copies of the meeting summary of the August meeting were not available to read and approve.  Mr. O’Dell said he will email the summary draft to the EAC members for approval and then send it to the Township Secretary for posting on the Township website.

Announcements:  Mr. Morrisson reported that the Planning Commission agreed to support the Historical Site Overlay Ordinance.

Pennypacker Run Flooding:  Ms. Lorri Sarosy stated she has lived at 610 Pennypacker Avenue for six years.  She said she never had any stormwater problems until the last two years when she began to have periodic flooding in her backyard.  The problem greatly intensified this year as a result of Hurricane Irene and the heavy rainfall of late summer.  She said no water entered the house but her backyard was a lake and the water crested very close to her house.  She said that she talked to the Township Manager and Richard Breitenstein of DEP about the problem.  Ms. Sarosy said that the Township Manager and Township Roadmaster walked the site to assess the problem.  Mr. Breitenstein said that he has been looking into the Pennypacker Run Watershed and stream flow issues of this particular site using the web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) StreamStats (http://water.usgs.gov/osw/streamstats/).  He said that a carrying capacity review of the culvert which directs the Pennypacker Run stream under South Whitehorse Road is needed from PennDOT.  Mr. Breitenstein said he also discussed the matter with the Township Manager and said he is aware that the Township wrote a letter about a year ago asking PennDOT to assess the problem but so far PennDOT has not responded.  Mr. Breitenstein also noted the water course takes a sharp right-hand turn through a pipe near 690 Pennypacker Avenue.  The capacity of this pipe also needs to be assessed.  Mr. Breitenstein said that he sent a letter to the owner of the property concerning this issue.

A discussion followed and it was agreed that the EAC would organize a walking survey of the site to evaluate the present condition of the stream flow and the stormwater system.  Mr. Morrisson said he will take the lead and contact John Sartor of Gilmore Associates, the Township Engineer, to schedule the site visit.  Once a date is decided, he will ask the Township Manager to draft a letter to the area residents to notify them of the walkthrough.                                                            

Developments:

Nolen Property:  No activity reported.

Aqua PA:  Mr. Kunz reported that he read the review letter by Gilmore & Associates dated August 23, 2011 concerning the proposed Aqua Chemical Storage Building.  He said there appears to be no issues of concern for the EAC.     

Thompson Tract:  Mr. Kunz reported that the Township received the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA) from the property owner.  He said that most of the issues had been addressed and he will prepare a brief review letter with comments.  He reiterated the fact that there will be eleven new lots, averaging approximately 10 acres, on the Schuylkill Township side of the proposed development and each lot will be reviewed separately as they become available for development.       

Bird Town:  Mr. White reported that the September 24th training session for Schuylkill Township Bird Town volunteers never transpired because there were not enough volunteers registered for the session.  He also reported that he talked to Steve Saffier about setting up a small booth during the October 7th First Friday event in Phoenixville.

More information on the program is available at: http://pa.audubon.org or by contacting Mr. Steve Saffier at ssaffier@Audubon.org. 

Trails (including Toonerville Trolley Trail/Freedom Valley YMCA - TTT):  Mr. Cram reported that he was unable to attend the August 26th TTT meeting.  He also reported that he has been exploring the idea that was discussed during the August EAC Meeting concerning a sidewalk that would run from the Exxon Station along Valley Forge Road to connect to Starr Street.  He said he spoke to Ms. Carol Heath, a resident of the area, and received positive feedback about the idea.

Valley Park:  Mr. Kunz reported that the Township received the updated Wetlands Delineation completed by DelVal.  It appears that 1.56 acres, approximately 10% of the site, are delineated wetlands.  DelVal will be submitting their information to the Corps of Engineers for a formal review and approval.  

Environmental Overlay:  Mr. Kunz stated that he and Mr. O’Dell will meet in the near future to go over the Gilmore NRCO review letter and prepare to meet again with the Planning Commission.   

Pickering Preserve:   No activity reported.

Other EAC Business: 

Township Volunteer Openings:  Mr. Morrisson stated that he has drafted an email message that he will send to numerous Township residents informing them of available openings that exist on the Township’s commissions and committees.  

Tree Issues:  Mr. O’Dell reported that he looked into the Thousand Canker Disease that has been detected in Bucks County, forcing the PA Department of Agriculture to place a quarantine restricting the movement of wood products from Bucks County.  Apparently the disease was brought into the County in a load of Black Walnut lumber delivered from California.  Mr. O’Dell said the disease does not appear to be a threat to Black Walnut trees in Chester County at the present time.  He distributed copies of an article on Thousand Canker Disease that was written in the February 2010 Arborist News, a publication of the International Society of Arboriculture.  Mr. O’Dell stated that he will report back to the EAC concerning this disease as pertinent information comes in.          

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 pm.