$2.56M Proposed Stormwater Budget In Tredyffrin

TREDYFFRIN, PA —Tredyffrin Township supervisors this week tabled a plan to implement a stormwater fee to help with ongoing flooding issues throughout the township.

Instead, the supervisors decided to implement a separate fund for stormwater management in the annual budget.

Joseph F. DiRocco, finance director, said the township is adding tax increases for the stormwater fund.

DiRocco said the funds for stormwater is locked up and cannot be used for other items.

The proposed stormwater management fund is $2.56 million, an increase of $1.37 million over last year's spending plan. Salaries are $168,000.

The budget includes debt service for seven ongoing capital projects for flood reduction.

The stormwater has a capital budget of $7.3 million, which includes state and federal funds. The township has a proposed budget of $14 million for stormwater from 2024 to 2028.

Stormwater fee possibly down the road

Ellen Koopman, township solicitor, said the township is waiting on a decision in a West Chester case before the state Supreme Court to determine if a separate fee based on impervious land is allowed by law.

Koopman said the uncertainty of the legal standing of the fee is holding up the process of deciding to implement a fee. As a result, the township decided to fund the stormwater problem with an increase in taxes.

The township hired Jacobs Engineering in August 2022 for nearly $400,000 to develop a proposal to implement a stormwater management fee.

Courtney Finneran, project engineer, of Jacobs Engineering, said the township’s infrastructure is strained with aging infrastructure, flash flooding, and U.S. Environmental Protection regulations.
Finneran said the engineering firm officials met with a community advisory group during the last year to come up with a storm management plan.

The group decided that the fees should be based on the impervious area, which is land that allows water to flow through it.

About 90 percent of the parcels in the township are residential, with 43 percent having impervious areas. About six percent of the land parcels are commercial with 35 percent having impervious surfaces.

Supervisor Julie Gosse, chairwoman, said the study will be useful in the future when the legal issues are resolved.