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Douglass Township accepts MS4 Year‑6 update, moves to select Pollution‑Reduction projects for Green Lane Reservoir and Swamp Creek
Summary
The Douglass Township Board on June 17 accepted an engineering update required under its MS4 permit, learned a Pollution Reduction Plan requiring a 10% sediment cut for Green Lane Reservoir and Swamp Creek is needed, and instructed staff and consultants to pursue candidate retrofit projects and compliance tasks ahead of a Sept. 30 annual report deadline.
Douglass Township supervisors on June 17 accepted the township engineer’s Year‑6 MS4 update and directed staff to pursue candidate projects to meet a Pollution Reduction Plan (PRP) requirement that targets a 10% sediment reduction in Green Lane Reservoir and Swamp Creek.
The update, presented by Khal Hassan of Pennoni & Associates, summarized regulatory deadlines and compliance tasks tied to the township’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. Hassan said the current permit term is administratively extended by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to March 15, 2025, the annual MS4 report is due Sept. 30, 2024 (with a $500 filing fee), and the PRP is a new requirement under the extended permit that will require selection of retrofit or restoration projects to achieve the 10% reduction target.
The board discussed compliance steps: public education and outreach, illicit discharge detection, construction and post‑construction runoff controls, pollution prevention/municipal good‑housekeeping, and scheduled BMP inspections (once every three years). Hassan told the board that all township stormwater outfalls were screened in 2024 and Pennoni will work with township staff to evaluate candidate PRP sites, including potential basin retrofits in Douglass Park to increase stormwater retention.
Why it matters: the PRP requirement ties local project choices to measurable water‑quality outcomes in a regional reservoir and creek that supply downstream users and habitat. The decision commits the township to choose projects, track reductions and submit required documentation to DEP before the extended permit term. That may implicate engineering design, capital programming and intergovernmental coordination.
The board took no specific spending vote on PRP projects at the June 17 meeting; next steps are project screening, cost estimates and staff recommendations in subsequent meetings. The engineering packet accompanying the meeting materials includes more detail on minimum control measures, outfall screening results and the PRP framework.
