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STORMWATER 101

Answering your questions about the new stormwater fee BY BILL WELLOCK stAFF Writer

Federal mandates, just like water and other things, flow downhill. In this case, an unfunded mandate to improve stormwater infrastructure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is enforced by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which requires municipalities to meet the standards. In Luzerne County, many of those municipalities have organized with the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority to meet requirements of the mandate. The regional approach will save money compared to each municipality trying to meet the requirements on its own, WVSA officials said. The authority has held meetings to explain the program. Property owners who must pay have questions. Here are some questions and answers about MArk MorAn / stAFF PhotogrAPher the stormwater fee: Property owners recently began receiving their bills for the new stormwater management fee.

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GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Shutdown sets record with no end in sight Lawmakers are home for the weekend and Trump is tweeting into the void. BY JONATHAN LEMIRE, LISA MASCARO, JILL COLVIN AND DARLENE SUPERVILLE AssoCiAted Press

WHERE DID THIS BEGIN?

HOW WILL THEY DO THAT?

The origins of the program are nearly four decades old. In 1983, the governors of several states that are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and other federal officials created a program to address pollution flowing into the bay. The agreement has been updated a few times since then, and now a mandate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires municipalities with stormwater that eventually drains to the bay to reduce sediment pollution by 10 percent, phosphorus pollution by 5 percent and nitrogen pollution by 3 percent. The deadline to meet those standards is 2023.

Any municipality with a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit must implement a pollution reduction plan. DEP enforces those permits, and EPA also has the authority to enforce the permit requirements, said DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. EPA has undertaken enforcement actions against Pennsylvania permit holders in the past, independent of DEP, she said. In Luzerne County, most municipalities with permits have asked the sanitary authority to organize a regional plan. WVSA approached DEP with the idea, Connolly said. The authority decided to charge a stormwater fee to fund projects to meet program requirements.

WASHINGTON — As the partial gover nment shutdown slipped into the record books Saturday as the longest ever, members of Congress were out of town, no negotiations were scheduled and President Donald Trump tweeted into the void. He did not tip his hand on whether he will move ahead with an emergency declaration that could break the impasse, free up money for his wall without congressional approval and kick off legal challenges and a political storm over the use of that extraordinary step. A day earlier, he said he was not ready to do it “right now.” Lawmakers are due back in Wa s h i n g t o n from their READ states and conMORE gressional disContractors tricts in the in shutdown new week. limbo as Trump fired checks stop off a series of and invoices tweets pushing languish. back against Page A7 the notion that he doesn’t have a strategy to end what became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history when it entered its 22nd day Saturday. “Elections have consequences!” he declared, meaning the 2016 election in which “I promised safety and security” and, as part of that, a border wall. But there was another election, in November, and the consequence of that is that Democrats now control the House and they refuse to give Trump money for a wall.

Please see STORMWATER, Page A6

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Lawmakers push to save nuclear power A report says nuclear power producers need help staying competitive. BY ERIC MARK stAFF Writer

Pennsylvania’s nuclear power industry, including the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Salem Twp., faces a challenging future and needs help, according to a bipartisan group of state lawmakers. The Susquehanna plant, the Citizens’ VoiCe File owned by Talen Energy, is Talen Energy’s Susquehanna Steam Electric Station among the largest employers in Salem Twp. is one of the largest employers in the in the region, with a workforce of about 900. region with about 900 employees.

Elected officials say they want to make sure those jobs are secure. A report released late last year by the Bicameral Nuclear Energy Caucus — a small group of state lawmakers of both major parties, from both houses of the state legislature — says lawmakers need to help nuclear power producers stay competitive in an energy market flooded with cheap natural gas. “A severe drop in gas prices has created a perfect storm in the nuclear industry,” said state Sen. John Yudichak, cochair of the energy caucus.

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FROM PAGE A1

A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2019

STORMWATER: Answering the questions behind the new fee FRoM PAgE A1

their stormwater utility fees in place, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

WHY DO THIS? WHY SHOULD WE CARE? Allthisworkisintendedtoimprove the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The bay is home to major fishing and tourism industries, and the massive estuary is an important ecosystem. Pennsylvanians are major contributors to what flows into the bay but live farther away than our southern neighbors, read a 2015 editorial in The Baltimore Sun. “The Susquehanna River is responsible for nearly half the freshwater flowing into the Chesapeake. Yet Pennsylvania residents have no direct stake in the welfare of so much that is downstream such as crabs, tidal flats, scenic waterways and bustling ports with all those jobs associated with tourism, seafood and other bay-related business,” the editorial read. The Chesapeake Bay Program asks people to consider their local waterways that feed the bay. FishMARK MoRAN / STAFF PHoTogRAPHER ing, boating, nature-watching and The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority has implemented the new stormwater management fee as other activities are all worse in water that is polluted, unproductive part of an unfunded federal mandate. and potentially dangerous, the organization’s website says.

WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR THE FEE? The fee is based on the amount of impervious surface on a property. Impervious area is anything that rainwater flows off without seeping into the ground. Roofs, walkways, patios and driveways are all impervious. Gravel driveways also count toward the total.

HOW DOES WVSA KNOW HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS AREA IS ON MY PROPERTY? An aerial survey determined how much impervious surface was on each property.

WHO IS PART OF THE PROGRAM?

There are 32 municipalities that are part of WVSA’s stormwater program: Ashley, Courtdale, Duryea, Edwardsville, Exeter, Forty Fort, Hanover Twp., Harveys Lake, Hughestown, Jackson Twp., Jenkins Twp., Kingston, Laflin, Larksville, Lehman Twp., Luzerne, Nanticoke, Newport Twp., Pittston, Pittston Twp., Plains Twp., Plymouth, Pringle, Sugar Notch, Swoyersville, Warrior Run, West Pittston, West Wyoming, Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre Twp., Wyoming, Yatesville.

WHO IS PAYING THE FEE? ARE NONPROFITS AND GOVERNMENTS PAYING? Properties in municipalities with a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit must pay. Anyone in those towns whose property includes impervious surface is responsible for payment. No one is exempt. Homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, churches, colleges, school districts and city and municipal agencies all pay.

stormwater fee based upon impervious area is more equitable because properties that create more stormwater runoff pay more, and properties that create less stormwater runoff pay less. Empirical studies show impervious area provides the best correlation of the quantity or quality of runoff leaving a property, as opposed to assessed property value. In addition, all developed properties contribute stormwater runoff and should pay the stormwater fee; however, some properties are exempt from taxes. The general result is an additional savings to residential property owners of roughly 55 percent to 75 percent in paying for stormwater management through a fee as opposed to a tax.”

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO AND WHAT DOES IT PAY FOR?

The money will go to the sanitary authority to use for stormwaWHY A STORMWATER FEE ter management projects that will INSTEAD OF ANOTHER meet the program requirements. SOURCE OF FUNDING? The projects include stormwater Here’s what the authority said parks and rain gardens, local

No. Kingston Twp., Dallas Twp. and Dallas have authorized the Dallas Area Municipal Authority to handle stormwater for them. DAMA’s fee is based on the number of number of sewer or trash units currently charged to customers. The charge for a single unit is $15 per quarter. DAMA will charge residential and commercial properties this rate in 2019, said Tom Mayka, stormwater program manager. In 2020, the DAMA stormwater fee will be unchanged for residential customers, but commercial customers will be charged based on impervious area. That future fee schedule for commercial properties has not been decided, Mayka said.

WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT RAIN THAT I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT? The rain picks up pollutants and moves them into waterways. Dirt, fertilizer, chemical contaminants and more are washed into streams during rainstorms. From those streams, they move into the Susquehanna River and down into the Chesapeake Bay.

MY PROPERTY RETAINS WATER. WHY SHOULD I PAY? R a in a nd r un o f f m ay b e absorbed by bare ground during light rain, but properties generally discharge runoff during heavier events, according to the sanitary authority.

WHY DOESN’T MY BILL SEPARATE THE STORMWATER FEE? According to WVSA, the authority planned to include an itemized list of charges, but did not do that because space on the bill was limited and the authority didn’t want to increase mailing costs.

WHAT IS THE FEE SCHEDULE CHARGED BY THE WVSA? about why it decided on a fee: “A

Each real estate parcel pays a monthly charge according to how much impervious area it contains: ■ 0 to 99 square feet: No charge ■ 100 to 499 square feet: $1 ■ 500 to 6,999 square feet: $4.80. This is the tier most homes fall in. ■7,000ormoresquarefeet:$1.70per 1,000 square feet. Some residential properties with large amounts of impervious area fall into this category.

IS THE WVSA HANDLING THIS FOR ALL ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE?

streams restoration, street sweeping, mapping of the stormwater system and more. The regional approach means that a project completed anywhere in the group can count toward progress for all the participating municipalities. Fewer projects will need to be built, and WVSA officials expect that the regional approach will save $274 million over 20 years compared to a system in which each municipality ran its own program. Some of the money collected will be returned to participating municipalities. Those funds will go into a savings account that each town can only use for stormwater projects, such as replacing catch basins, said Donna Gillis, WVSA spokeswoman.

The permits for the MS4 program are renewed every five years. WVSA officials have said they WHAT ABOUT ELSEWHERE expect federal requirements will IN PENNSYLVANIA AND IN increase in the future, but they won’t know until the EPA makes a OTHER STATES? decision. Other areas in the state that “We’ve been asked that many drain to the Chesapeake Bay and times,” Gillis said. “I can’t answer some parts of five other states — that with a definitive answer.” Delaware, Maryland, New York, Virginia and West Virginia — are WILL THESE FEES CHANGE? responsible for meeting the requireGillis wouldn’t say. ments set by the EPA. “Our board of directors continBut not every place is paying for ues collecting and reviewing feedthe work with a fee. In Maryland, back from property owners as well for example, a 2012 state law as public officials. We continue required ten jurisdictions to set meeting with several stakeholders fees to pay for stormwater manage- and we will give any updates to our ment. But revisions to the law in regional stormwater management 2015 changed the program to allow program as necessary,” she said those jurisdictions to decide how Thursday. they paid for the stormwater work. Contact the writer: Some will allocate it from their gen- bwellock@citizensvoice.com eral funds while others will keep 570-821-2051, @CVBIllW

NUCLEAR: Officials say protecting jobs of plant workers is essential FRoM PAgE A1

The Marcellus Shale natural gas boom has driven the drop in natural gas prices, said Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Twp. Nuclear power is an important part of the state’s energy-supply industry, thanks to an increasing focus on carbon-free energy sources, Yudichak said. One option state lawmakers need to consider is a carbon emissions tax, which would benefit nuclear energy suppliers, he said. Derek Jones, plant manager at the Susquehanna Station, noted another advantage of nuclear power: It does not depend on sunshine or wind, unlike other alternative forms of energy generation, such as clusters of solar panels or windmills. “Just think about grid reliability,” Jones said. “Nuclear power is ... 100 percent of the time. It makes the grid extremely stable.” Current conditions in the energy market, especially the drop in natural gas prices, make it difficult for nuclear power producers to compete, Jones said. The announcement that Three Mile island THE CITIzENS’ VoICE FILE — the nuclear plant near Derek Jones, plant manager at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Salem Twp., Harrisburg that became said nuclear power is reliable ‘100 percent of the time.’ known world-wide following

‘We’ve had the Marcellus boom. By all accounts we have a 100-year supply of gas. As we transition from fossil fuels, nuclear needs to be in the mix.’ STATE SEN. JOHN YUDICHAK D-14, Plymouth Twp.

“My primary concern is the jobs of our nuclear employees and that we prevent any surprise closures,” Toohil wrote in an email. “Nuclear plants have a lifespan and we do not want any more unexpected and premature closures in Pennsylvania.” Not everyone agrees that lawmakers should help the nuclear industry through measures such as a carbon tax, especially if that is at the expense of other alternative forms of energy. The American Association of Retired Persons, which advocates for people 50 and older, has opposed nuclear industry subsidies, arguing that such measures would burden senior citizens on fixed incomes. Those concer ns are unfounded, Yudichak said. As long as all players in the energy-production market are on a level playing field, consumers will only benefit, he said. “We’ve had the Marcellus boom,” Yudichak said. “By all accounts we have a 100year supply of gas. As we transition from fossil fuels, nuclear needs to be in the mix.”

an accident in 1979 — will close this year should serve as an alarm bell, he said. Jones said he has seen the adverse impact the closure of a nuclear plant can have on a community as well as plant employees. Jones worked at a nuclear plant in Vermont for many years before it shut down in 2014, he said. Hundreds of workers scattered across the country to find other jobs, while the area surrounding the plant suffered economically after the plant was shuttered, he said. Protecting the jobs of Susquehanna plant workers is essential, said state Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-116, Butler Contact the writer: Twp., whose district includes emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117 Salem Twp.

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STORMWATER FEE

StaNDING hIS GRoUND

More than 3,000 face highest fee level

Trump vows to ‘never back down’ in shutdown fight.

More than 67,700 residential properties must pay the fee. BY BILL WELLOCK Staff Writer

lines on its website Monday morning, showing the hourplus waits at all three checkpoints in the domestic terminal. “It’s chaos out here,” passenger Vincent Smith said as he stood in a line that snaked through the Atlanta airport’s atrium and baggage claim areas. “This line, I’ve been here about 15 minutes and it has moved 2 feet.”

More than 3,000 homes are in the highest billing tier for a new stormwater fee administered by the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. Most residential properties have a bill that equates to $4.80 per month. But 3,167 residential parcels include more than 7,000 square feet of impervious surface, which means their bill equates to a monthly charge of $1.70 per 1,000 square feet of impervious area. Those bills range from an annual fee of about $143 for a property with 7,000 square feet of impervious surface to yearly charges for some homeowners that total more than $1,000. There are 67,767 residential properties that must pay a fee, according to information proREAD vided by an engiMORE neering firm conProposal for sulting the authoriWyoming to ty. back out of Of those, about stormwater five percent are in fee fails. the highest tier. Page a4 About 92 percent are in the tier paying $4.80 per month, and the remainder owe the equivalent of $1 monthly. The fee will pay for upgrades that will meet the requirements of a U.S Environmental Protection Agency program to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. WVSA recently began sending out bill that include the new stormwater fee, and the charge has angered some property owners. The authority got involved in the stormwater program after an October 2016 meeting with state legislators, officials from the Department of Environmental Protection and municipal representatives, said Adrienne Vicari, an engineer with Harrisburg-based firm Herbert Rowland & Grubic. After the meeting, WVSA agreed to study the feasibility of a regional stormwater program that would be able to meet the EPA’s requirements for municipal separate storm sewer systems.

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Please see FEE, Page A8

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President donald trump talks with reporters on the south Lawn of the white house on Monday. BY CATHERINE LUCEY AND JILL COLVIN aSSociated PreSS

idea of trying to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress. WASHINGTON — With the government “I’m not looking to call a national emermired in shutdown week four, President gency,” Trump said. “This is so simple we Donald Trump rejected a short-term legisla- shouldn’t have to.” tive fix and dug in for more No cracks were apparent in combat Monday, declaring he the president’s deadlock with READ MORE lawmakers after a weekend would “never ever back down.” Trump rejected a suggestion with no negotiations at all. His trump throws fast to reopen the government for rejection of the short-term food dinner for several weeks while negotiaoption proposed by Republican champion tions would continue with Demclemson. Page B5 Sen. Lindsay Graham removed ocrats over his demands for one path forward, and little $5.7 billion for a long, impregnaelse was in sight. Congressioble wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The nal Republicans were watching Trump for president also edged further away from the a signal for how to move next, and Demo-

crats have not budged from their refusal to fund the wall and their demand that he reopen government before border talks resume. The White House has been considering reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats rather than dealing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to try and chip away at Democratic opposition to the wall. A White House official said plans were in the works to call freshman representatives, especially those who initially did not support Pelosi’s bid for the speakership. Please see SHUTDOWN, Page A8

No. of no-show airport security screeners soars in shutdown Travelers facing long waits at airports. BY JEFF MARTIN AND DAVID KOENIG aSSociated PreSS

JoHN SPiNk / atLaNta JourNaL-coNStitutioN via aP

security lines at hartsfield-Jackson International airport in atlanta stretch more than an hour long, causing some travelers to miss flights on Monday morning.

ATLANTA — The number of airport security screeners failing to show up for work around the country is soaring as the partial government shutdown goes into its fourth week. No-shows among screeners jumped Sunday and again Monday, when the Transporta-

tion Security Administration reported a national absence rate of 7.6 percent compared with 3.2 percent on a comparable day a year ago. Monday marked the first business day after screeners did not receive a paycheck for the first time since the shutdown began. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, some passengers waited more than an hour to get through checkpoints. The airport reported the long

Wolf’s first term: Wins, losses and big budget fights The governor will be sworn in to his second term today in Harrisburg. BY MARC LEVY aSSociated PreSS

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will be sworn in to a second term Tuesday, giving the Democrat another four years after a first term marked by both bitter fights with the Republicancontrolled Legislature and bipartisan agreements. Perhaps most memorable were the protracted budget stalemates, including one lasting a state record of nine months. But Wolf and lawmakers also cooperated to boost school funding,

legalize medical marijuana, expand gambling and fight opioid addition. Here is a look back at Wolf ’s first term:

Re-election Wolf won re-election with nearly 58 percent of the vote in November, backed by a unified Democratic Party and aided by labor unions, a constellation of progressive issues groups, and a grassroots backlash to President Donald Trump. His comfortable victory over Republican Scott Wagner was no surprise: He led polls by double-digits since the race began and employed a conservative campaign strategy seemingly designed to capitalize on Wagner’s penchant for

head-scratching remarks. It worked, particularly when Wagner made national headlines for warning Wolf in a video that he’s “going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes.”

Fights Wolf began his first term by trying to build relationships with Republican lawmakers, but the comity didn’t last. An unprecedented nine-month stalemate followed Wolf’s first budget proposal for a multibillion-dollar tax increase he framed as necessary to wipe out persistent post-recession defMarc Levy / aSSociated PreSS icits, corporate tax loopholes and dis- Gov. tom wolf scrubs cots as he takes part in cleaning the parities in public school funding. homeless shelter at the downtown daily Bread, a block Please see WOLF, Page A8

from the state capitol, on Monday in harrisburg. wolf will be sworn in to a second term today.

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A8 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019

Dallas among districts using new state tip line BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STaFF WriTer

DALLAS TWP. — Schools in Pennsylvania on Monday implemented a new anonymous tip line through the state attorney general’s office. Dallas Superintendent Thomas Duffy discussed the new tip line at Monday’s school board meeting. Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run helps students and adults JaCquelyn marTin / aSSoCiaTed preSS recognize warning signs and President Donald Trump, left, listens as Brandon Judd, president of the National signals about potential Border Patrol Council, talks about border security in the press briefing room of the threats and encourages them to “say something.” White House in Washington on Jan. 3. Tips can be reported by calling the using a mobile phone app or call the tip line

No winners in a gov’t shutdown? You haven’t met Brandon Judd BY RICHARD LARDNER aSSoCiaTed preSS

WASHINGTON — Brandon Judd, president of the union that represents thousands of border patrol agents, has flipped the axiom that there are no winners in a government shutdown. His proximity to President Donald Trump has elevated the union leader’s profile while burnishing the image of the U.S. Border Patrol, a backwater in prior administrations when compared to other federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Secret Service. At the same time, Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, has helped to validate Trump’s fiery immigration rhetoric and affirm his conviction that a wall at the southern border is urgently needed to stop what they’ve described as a humanitarian crisis. Trump’s demand that $5.7 billion be provided for his long-promised border wall has triggered a stalemate with Democrats in Congress and the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. Judd said in a written response to questions that he’s not an official adviser to the president. But, he added, any time the union “can make the public aware (of)

the critical problems and dangers Border Patrol agents encounter on the border our members benefit.” A 21-year Border Patrol veteran currently posted in Montana, Judd has been a staunch ally since the Border Patrol Council endorsed Trump for president in late March 2016 — its first endorsement of a White H o u s e c a n d i d at e. H e appeared at Trump’s side earlier this month in the White House briefing room and joined the president during his visit last week to McAllen, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley where illegal border crossings have surged. “So, Brandon, I’ve known him from the beginning,” Trump said during a round table discussion at a McAllen Border Patrol station. “And almost before I announced, he was for my ideas and he was for us.” At the White House, Trump introduced Judd as a friend and nodded approvingly as the union president declared that “walls work.” The impromptu appearance forced Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to suddenly cancel a press conference that was about to start at the agency’s headquarters a

few blocks away. Doris Meissner, commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton administration, said it was striking to see Judd in the White House briefing room with Trump instead of the homeland security officials responsible for carrying out the president’s agenda. “That is just not the way the government is supposed to run,” said Meissner, a senior fellow at the bipartisan Migration Policy Institute. Like many other federal employees, border patrol agents are working amid the partial government shutdown unsure of when they’ll get their next paycheck. Reports that federal employees “do not agree with the shutdown” aren’t true, Judd said at the White House. But while Judd was in McAllen, hundreds of furloughed federal workers gathered in front of the White House to call for an immediate end to the shutdown. And the American Federation of Government Employees, the federal workers union the Border Patrol Council is affiliated with, is suing the government, alleging it’s unlawful to force federal employees to work without pay.

SHUTDOWN: Senators mull ways out of gridlock in Washington From page a1

It was uncertain whether a ny D e m o c r at s wo u l d respond to the invitation. Separately, around a dozen senators from both parties met Monday to discuss ways out of the shutdown gridlock. Participants included Graham and Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Tim Kaine, D-Va. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was aware of the group’s effort but added, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s blessed it.” The odds of the group producing an actual solution without Trump’s approval seemed slim. In the past, centrists of

both parties banding together have seldom resolved major partisan disputes. Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill late Monday “discouraged,” as GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota put it, as all signals pointed to a protracted fight. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the GOP chairman of the Appropriations Committee, compared the shutdown saga to the play “Waiting for Godot.” “And Godot never shows up,” Shelby said. “We could be protracted here for a long time. There’s nobody on the horse coming to rescue us ... that I know about.” Trump spent the weekend in the White House reaching

out to aides and lawmakers and tweeting aggressively about Democratic foes as he tried to make the case that the wall was needed on both security and humanitarian grounds. He stressed that argument repeatedly during a speech at a farming convention in New Orleans on Monday, insisting there was “no substitute” for a wall or a barrier along the southern border. Trump has continued to insist he has the power to sign an emergency declaration to deal with what he says is a crisis of drug smuggling and trafficking of women and children at the border. But he now appears to be in no rush to make such a declaration.

AIRPORTS: Consolidating operations From page a1

TSA is working with the Atlanta airport and airlines “to maximize all available operational resources at the airport,” TSA spokesman Jim Gregory said. The agency is working with airports and airlines nationwide to consolidate operations and get the most out of resources, Gregory added. He declined to provide absentee figures for Atlanta or other airports, saying that

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would compromise security by exposing possible vulnerabilities. “Screeners will not do anything to compromise or change their security procedures,” he said. But Smith said he could relate to government workers who don’t show up so they can find other ways to make ends meet. “If I was a government worker, yes, I would probably call in and try to do something else because creditors don’t care if you’re furloughed or not,” Smith said. “They just want to get paid and with a family of six, you have to do what you have to.” Atlanta’s wait times stretched well beyond what

the TSA says most passengers have encountered since the shutdown began. Delta Air Lines, the dominant carrier in Atlanta, and other airlines said they were advising passengers to get to the airport at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international trips. A Delta spokeswoman said airline employees were pitching in by helping manage TSA lines. TSA said that it screened 1.97 million people on Sunday and that 99.1 percent waited less than 30 minutes, and 93.1 percent less than 15 minutes. Precheck lines for people who pay a fee for expedited screening averaged less than five minutes, TSA said.

at 1-844-SAF2SAY (723-2729). Also at Monday’s meeting, the school board approved the appointment of high school Principal Jason Rushmer at school district director of operations. His salary for the new job will be $107,500. The board created the new job last month. The job involves overseeing operational functions relating to safety, transportation, student health, student activities and athletics. Rushmer will be the second highest ranking administrator in the district and will report directly to Duffy. He will remain high school principal until a new princi-

pal is appointed, Duffy said. The district will advertise the job opening and interview applicants, Duffy said. The board also approved a state index limit on increasing the property tax rate for the upcoming school year. The index amount for the school district is 2.7 percent. The state establishes an index amount each year for school districts based on various factors. School districts can exceed index amounts with voter approval through a referendum or by getting exceptions for certain costs approved by the state. Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

Scranton council urges public not to jump to conclusions amid FBI probe BY JIM LOCKWOOD STaFF WriTer

SCRANTON — City council fielded residents’ ‘what if ’ questions Monday on who would get the city’s top job if Mayor Bill Courtright were to resign. On Sunday, Courtright denied rumors he’s planning to resign in the wake of FBI raids last week at City Hall and his home. At council’s meeting Monday, however, the raids of last Wednesday and the numerous rumors that arose since then were main topics of discussion. Council held an executive session before the regular meeting on a personnel matter, council President Pat Rogan announced at the start of the council meeting to comply with the Sunshine Law. Calling the FBI investigation “the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” resident Joan

Hodowanitz asked: “In the event the mayor was to resign, tell me who becomes the next acting mayor. Is it you, Mr. Rogan?” Rogan cited the city’s Home Rule Charter, which says a vacancy in the office of mayor could occur in several ways, one of which is via resignation. If a vacancy does occur, the council president becomes acting mayor for up to 30 days, and council may appoint a successor within that time frame to fill out the balance of the unexpired mayoral term, according to the administrative code. If the council does not, or cannot because of a tie vote, choose a new mayor, then the Court of Common Pleas would select a mayor, the administrative code says. Another provision of the administrative code dealing with temporary mayoral vacancies, such as from an ill-

ness, says the deputy mayor would serve as mayor. The current deputy mayor is city solicitor Jessica Eskra. Council members cautioned the public against jumping to conclusions or speculation. Each council member reiterated their surprise and shock that the raids occurred, and that they do not know what the matter is about. Council solicitor Amil Minora explained that typically council would send a letter to the mayor seeking information on a subject, and then hope for a response. Council plans to send such a letter soon. Councilman Tim Perry asked that council also send a letter to the FBI asking for at least a timeframe and scope of the investigation. Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com 570-348-9100 x5185 @jlockwoodTT

FEE: Based on impervious area From page a1

All municipalities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with an MS4 permit must meet the new requirements to reduce sediment pollution by 10 percent, phosphorus pollution by 5 percent and nitrogen pollution by 3 percent. These changes are happening now because the latest MS4 permits include the EPA requirements. “Due to the significant administrative, jurisdictional and financial benefits determined through the evaluation, 32 municipalities joined WVSA’s program by entering into intergovernmental cooperation agreements with WVSA. The other option was for each municipality to come up with the funding and administrative capability to meet new MS4 requirements on their own. Most municipalities were significantly deficient and lacked the current

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Wyoming Valley Sanitary authority monthly board meeting WHEN: Today, 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Wyoming Valley

FEE BREAKDOWN

There are 67,767 residential properties that must pay a new stormwater fee administered by the Wyoming Valley Sanitary authority. Here’s how many are in each tier: ■ 100 to 499 square feet, capability to meet regulatory needs without the assistance of WVSA,” Vicari wrote in an email. At a November 2018 board meeting, the WVSA board voted to approve the tiered fee schedule. Authority officials, WVSA’s engineering and legal consultants and a board committee reviewed the plan ahead of the vote.

Sanitary authority treatment plant and administration building, 1000 Wilkes-Barre St., Hanover Twp. $1 monthly fee: 2,255 ■ 500 to 6,999 square feet, $4.80 monthly fee: 62,345 ■ 7,000 or more square feet, $1.70 per 1,000 square feet monthly fee: 3,167 The board decided to charge based on amount of impervious area because studies show that impervious area is the best indicator of the amount of stormwater runoff a property generates. It is the standard for most stormwater utilities in the country, wrote said. Contact the writer: bwellock@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2051, @CVBillW

WOLF: Avoided any major scandals From page a1

The stalemate was punctuated by Wolf ’s blunt secondyear budget speech in which he warned lawmakers to face up to Pennsylvania’s ticking fiscal time bomb or “find another job.” House Republicans didn’t bite, and little of it ever became law. Wolf and lawmakers eventually agreed on a smaller package of tax increases, including on cigarettes. Wolf then changed tactics, emphasized fiscal austerity and tried to restore a cooperative spirit to the Capitol’s corridors. Bipartisanship came and went. In 2017, Wolf and Republican lawmakers faced each other down in another budget stalemate. This time, however, Wolf had a better hand: Republicans had already passed a spending plan, but not a plan to pay for it, so Wolf unilaterally came up with the cash without lawmakers. They passed a revenue package several weeks later, and Wolf grudgingly went along

with an aggressive expansion of gambling to raise cash for a threadbare treasury, as well as plans to borrow roughly $2 billion to backfill a huge cash shortfall.

Wins Wolf got halfway to his firstterm goal of increasing education funding by $2 billion, while paring back standardized testing, emphasizing prekindergarten education and boosting computer, science and math courses in high schools. The state’s uninsured rate dropped as Wolf aggressively defended Pennsylvania’s participation in the Affordable Care Act’s provisions. Wolf and lawmakers passed legislation to combat opioid addiction and start a medical marijuana program, while Wolf vetoed 17 bills — including one aimed at narrowing abortion rights — without suffering a successful override. Wolf also successfully imposed a moratorium on the death penalty — a strategy upheld by the state’s highest court.

Losses Wolf hit a brick wall of Republican resistance to his proposals to increase the minimum wage, expand background checks on firearms purchases, overhaul how public schools are funded and impose a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production. The Senate Republican majority also blocked his first nominee to lead the Pennsylvania State Police.

Scandals Wolf avoided a major firstterm scandal, although he abruptly dismissed several cabinet members without saying why. He also ordered his inspector general to investigate cheating allegations at the state police academy and complaints about the treatment of state employees by Lt. Gov. Mike Stack and Stack’s wife. Ultimately, Wolf stripped Stack of state police protection and limited cleaning, grounds keeping and maintenance by state employees at Stack’s official residence. Stack lost his re-election bid.

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A01] | 01/31/19

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HEART HEALTH

Report: Nearly half of US adults have heart or blood vessel disease. Page B7

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Lawsuit: Officer recorded assaults

Two women claim their constitutional rights were violated by Mark Icker. BY JAMES HALPIN Staff writer

temperatures,” in the winter, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the Weather Underground firm. “Past record-cold waves have not dissipated this quickly. ... Here we are going right into spring-like temperatures.” On Thursday, the system marched east, spreading arctic conditions over an area from Buffalo to Brooklyn.

WILKES-BARRE — Two women who allege they were coerced into sex by an Ashley police officer on Thursday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officer alleging he violated their constitutional rights. Mark Icker, 29, of Dickson City, is facing sexual assault, official oppression and related charges alleging he pressured the two women into ICKER performing oral sex on him to avoid arrest in December. He is also charged with indecent assault for allegedly pulling down a third woman’s shirt and groping her after stopping her for driving under the influence last June. In a lawsuit brought Thursday by the two women who say they were pressured into sex, attorneys Barry H. Dyller and Theron J. Solomon allege Icker — who is now suspended from departments in Ashley, Sugar Notch and Jessup — recorded two illicit sex acts with a body camera he personally bought. “Icker’s purpose in recording the forced sexual encounters with (the women) was to have trophies memorializing his forced sexual encounters with (the women), and so he could repeatedly watch those forced sexual encounters,” the attorneys wrote. The complaint, which names Icker as a defendant, details two traffic stops that were previously documented in the criminal cases against him. The attorneys say they are still working with additional victims of Icker and WilkesBarre police officer Robert Collins — who is suspended after being charged with demanding sex from four

Please see COLD, Page A5

Please see ICKER, Page A5

A STORM OF CONTROVERSY dave ScherbeNco / Staff PhotograPher

Adrienne Vicari and Mark Spatz, of the engineering firm Herbert, Rowland and Grubic, address Thursday’s public meeting at the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority in Hanover Twp.

WVSA OKs changes on contentious stormwater fee BY ERIC MARK Staff writer

HANOVER TWP. — After hearing from dozens of people unhappy with a recently implemented stormwater fee, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority board on Thursday approved changes that will reduce the fee for some and provide incentives for all. Revenue from the fee will be used for pollution control measures to comply with a mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding bodies of water that drain into Chesapeake Bay, including the Susquehanna River. Thirtytwo Luzerne County municipalities

‘I want everyone here to know tonight that we are listening.’ SAMUEL GUESTO

wyoming valley Sanitary authority board chairman

agreed to have the sanitary authority handle the fee and the pollution control measures, saying that would save money. The fee drew fierce backlash as soon as the first bills were mailed out last month, especially from owners of large rural properties, who claimed they were being over-charged.

The authority board heard those complaints and addressed them, Chairman Samuel Guesto said. “I want everyone here to know tonight that we are listening,” Guesto said to an audience of more than 100 that spilled into the hall outside the board meeting room. “We have taken the time to work on different initiatives and policies within the fee structure to look at ways to reduce the costs of this initiative.” The board on Thursday amended the fee structure to reduce the burden on owners of Tier 3 properties, with 7,000 square feet or more of impervious surface. They will now

pay a base fee of $4.80 per month, the same as owners of Tier 2 properties, of 500 to 6,999 square feet. Tier 3 owners will pay an additional $1.70 per month for each additional 1,000 square feet of impervious surface. Under the old fee structure, tier 3 properties were assessed a straight fee of $1.70 per square foot. The change will reduce the annual stormwater fee for a property with 10,000 square feet of impervious surface from about $204 to about $118, said authority Executive Director Jim Tomaine. Please see FEE, Page A7

Rapid thaw will follow polar blast In some areas, temperatures could climb 80 degrees. BY TAMMY WEBBER AND JEFF KAROUB aSSociated PreSS

CHICAGO — In Illinois, temperatures could rise by 80 degrees within days. In Michigan, melting snow and rain and a 17-mile ice jam could dave KetteriNg / telegraPh herald via aP lead to flooding. Across the Exhaust from traffic rises in the cold morning air along Midwest, the sudden warmth a street in Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday. was sure to bring more bro-

ken roads and busted water mains. The polar vortex that brought many cities to a standstill was expected to end with a rapid thaw that experts say could be unprecedented. But the sudden swing from long johns to light jackets and short sleeves could create problems of its own. “I don’t think there’s ever been a case where we’ve seen (such a big) shift in

Wolf renews call for drilling tax

Governor says funds from severance tax would be used to boost infrastructure. BY BOB KALINOWSKI Staff writer

WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday visited Luzerne County to once again advocate for a severance tax on natural gas drillers that would be used to invest $4.5 billion in the state’s infrastructure. T he funding would enhance flood protection, rehabilitate blighted areas for development and expand broadband internet services

warreN ruda / Staff PhotograPher

During a stop in Luzerne County on Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf said Pennsylvania ‘is the only major natural gas producing state without a severance tax.’ across the state, Wolf said. “Pennsylvania is the only major natural gas producing state without a severance tax,” Wolf said at the Luzerne

County Emergency Management Agency building in Wilkes-Barre. “This is an idea whose time has come.” The Marcellus Shale Coali-

tion, which represents the g a s i n d u s t r y, q u i c k l y responded with opposition to Wolf ’s proposal, noting drillers already pay an “impact fee” that generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the state. “Imposing additional energy taxes will cost consumers, hurt local jobs, especially among the building and labor trades, and negatively impact investment needed to safely produce clean and abundant energy that’s ushering in a new era of manufacturing growth,” Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Spigelmyer said in a statement. Please see WOLF, Page A5

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Volpe Report SUNDAY MORNINGS 11:30AM

When freshman U.S. Congressman Dan Meuser, a Republican from the newly-configured 9th District, won his seat in November, he had no idea his first month in office would be a historical one. By the time he arrived in Washington to begin serving a two-year term, a large portion of the government was shuttered as a controversial wall at our southern border fitted itself into the already plentiful acrimony in the nation’s Capitol. On Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on FOX56, The Volpe Report will host Congressman Meuser as the legislator from Luzerne County recounts a tumultuous January in Washington where a portion of government was closed for a record 35 days, reopening on January 25 -- several days after this show was recorded. “So far it’s been great,” Mr. Meuser said of his first weeks as a Congressman. “I’ve been reaching out to Democrats to get the conversation started.” Mr. Meuser said border security is one of his priorities in that calls to his offices are “100 to one in favor of a wall.” The Congressman said also he believes we have “a crisis at our Dan Meuser border.”

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A07] | 01/31/19

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FEE: Plenty of complaints

■ amended fee schedule for tier 3 properties, with 7,000 or more square feet of impervious surface: a base fee of $4.80 per month, plus $1.70 per each 1,000 square feet of additional impervious surface. ■ additional credits available for measures such as rain barrels or riparian buffers. ■ Bills will be due on march 15, rather than feb. 19. ■ Discount for paying a full year’s bill will be increased from 2 percent to 4 percent. ■ those who have already paid a bill in excess of the amended amount will see a credit applied to their next bill, or they can request a refund. ■ all fees to appeal are waived, for now.

Dave ScherBenco / Staff photographer

Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority Board member Frank Yurek explains calculations at Thursday’s meeting. encouraged those who feel their property has been misclassified to contact the authority, which will con-

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duct a review. Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117

Model Coming Soon!

Meuser seeks info on fee BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser is seeking information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on stormwater management regulations that resulted in a new fee on some properties in Luzerne County. “Farmers and small businesses with much larger impervious areas on their properties are seeing higher fees that threaten their viability,” Meuser, R-9, Dallas, wrote in a letter to Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “For example, a constituent from Dallas, Pa., informed my office that her farm, which has a greenhouse on the property, is facing a $1,400 annual fee. Residents should not be shouldering the burden of this unfunded government mandate and I am seeking answers on how to alleviate these financial stressors.”

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The audience applauded the changes the board made, but speaker after speaker complained fiercely about the governmental mandate, the fee structure, the lack of advance notice about the fee and the lack of clarity about where fee revenue would be directed. Judy Aita, a former member of West Pittston borough council, questioned the argument that municipalities would have been required to pay far more to meet the federal mandate on their own. She said she never saw hard numbers to support that argument. Guesto and Tomaine

23:26 | DONLINKEVI

The new stormwater fee stems from a federal requirement to reduce pollution that drains into the Chesapeake Bay from the Susquehanna River. The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is charging stormwater fees to landowners in 32 municipalities in Luzerne County to collect more than $8 million this year for stormwater-related services and projects. The stormwater fee suddenly became a massive controversy last month after landowners began receiving bills and realized how much this new fee was going to cost. The amount depends on the amount of impervious surface area on property. The fee is $12 a year for properties with 100 to 499 square feet of impervious area; $57.60 a year for properties with 500 and 6,999 square feet; and

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RED-HOT NATION Heat records are falling twice as often as cold ones. Page A10

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County ranks near bottom in statewide health report Annual rankings measure graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment. BY DENISE ALLABAUGH Staff Writer

tiMeS-SHaMroCk fiLe

The body of 9-year-old Marise Chiverella, right, was found in this stripping pit in the Milnesville section of Hazle Twp. in 1964.

COLD CASE HEATS UP

DNA from unidentified suspect in child’s rape, murder will be used to determine what he may have looked like BY AMANDA CHRISTMAN Staff Writer

It was a crime that rocked the tight-knit community of Hazleton, shattering innocence. Over a half-century later, it remains unsolved. But, new technology may bring investigators one step closer to solving the mystery and to finally finding out who raped and killed Marise A. Chiverella. The 9-year-old was last seen walking to school in Hazleton the morning of March 18, 1964. She was found murdered hours later in Hazle Twp. — callously left alone in a coal stripping hole locals used to dump trash. Police don’t have the sus-

‘You’re talking about a case that’s 55 years old. It happened when there really wasn’t this technology available and we’re using this to our advantage now.’

evidence recently was used by an independent lab to determine what he may have looked like. Pictures of the person who police believe killed the child will be released today by state police at Hazleton, days after the anniversary of her murder. Troopers hope the information leads to renewed public interest in the case and brings officers closer to her attacker’s identity. “It’s new technology,” said Trooper Anthony Petroski III, public inforTROOPER ANTHONY mation officer at Troop N PETROSKI III headquarters in West troop N public Hazleton. “You’re talking information officer about a case that’s 55 years pect’s name but they’ve had old. It happened when there his DNA for years, and that really wasn’t this technolo-

gy available and we’re using this to our advantage now.” Petroski said the case update shows troopers are unwilling to give up on unsolved cases. Though the Chiverella case isn’t yet closed, it’s one step closer. It was likely the first child sex crime involving murder in the area, according to previously published reports. Police relentlessly investigated then and now. S c o re s o f t ro o p e r s attached to the Hazleton barracks have reviewed the case each year since Chiverella’s death, unwilling to give up on serving justice. Please see CASE, Page A7

Stormwater fee headaches persist Resident learns stormwater fee, not sewer bill, must be paid first.

BY BILL WELLOCK AND BOB KALINOWSKI Staff WriterS

HANOVER TWP. — When Brian Shiner went to pay the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority this winter, he didn’t want to pay for stormwater.

Shiner, a Kingston resi- ‘How can you tell dent, complained at a WVSA meeting Tuesday that he me I don’t have the ran into a problem when he ability to pay which tried to pay only his sewer bill, and not the stormwater portion of the bill I fee, in February. He said he wish to pay?’ was told by sanitary authority staff that stormwater BRIAN SHINER fees must be paid first. The kingston resident f e es a re s e p a r at e, bu t arrived on the same bill sent don’t have the ability to pay to property owners to save which portion of the bill I money on postage. wish to pay?” Shiner said. “How can you tell me I Shiner noted that if your

sewer bill isn’t paid, the authority can have the water company shut off your service. Therefore, he said, residents should be allowed to itemize their payments. But a higher power is watching the work of the authority and other holders of Municipal Se parate Storm Sewer System permits. Please see FEE, Page A5

Luzerne County ranked 63rd out of 67 counties in Pennsylvania in a 2019 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps key findings report released Tuesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute. The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, income inequality and access to medical care and healthy foods in nearly every county in America. The report shows 17 percent of adults in Luzerne County smoke, 17 percent are in poor or fair health and 20 percent drink excessively. Although 81 percent have access to exercise opportunities, 25 percent are physically inactive and 29 percent are obese. “It’s unfortunate that our health rankings are as low as we are but unfortunately, I’m not surprised,” said Bill Jones, president and CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley. The report also shows that six percent of Luzerne County residents are uninsured, 5.9 percent are unemployed, 25 percent of children live in poverty and 40 percent of children live in single parent households. Jones said there is a significant correlation between poverty and health. “The poorer you are, the less healthy you are,” he said. “It’s harder for you to buy better nutritious foods. Health care is more expensive and challenging. Quality housing is not as affordable and that contributes to health issues. Just the toxic stress of being poor affects an individual’s health as well.” Since Jones became president and CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley in 2012, he changed the community fundraising organization’s focus to fight childhood poverty. Since 2012, he said the rate of childhood poverty in Luzerne County has dropped

NEPA COUNTIES Here’s where Northeast Pennsylvania’s counties rank in 2019 County Health rankings & roadmaps key findings report: ■ Pike, 16. ■ Wayne, 27. ■ Susquehanna, 40. ■ Wyoming, 44. ■ Lackawanna, 50. ■ Monroe, 57. ■ Luzerne, 63.

MORE ONLINE Visit citizensvoice.com to read the full report.

‘The poorer you are, the less healthy you are. It’s harder for you to buy better nutritious foods. Health care is more expensive and challenging.’ BILL JONES

United Way of Wyoming Valley president and Ceo

from 29.6 percent to 25 percent. While it’s still higher than the statewide rate of 17 percent, Jones said he’s happy it’s moving in the right direction. “That’s progress but it’s nowhere near where it should be or where we want it to be,” Jones said. “All of this work is going to take time and it’s going to take us working together to make a difference in the lives of atrisk children and families.” Since the United Way of Wyoming Valley changed its focus, Jones said 75 percent of its funding from donors goes to support children and families living in poverty and 25 percent funds traditional safety net items. He said work will continue in the community to ensure healthy births, that developmental milestones are met and children are getting the property education. Please see HEALTH, Page A5

Why Facebook didn’t block live NZ video Social media giant says no one flagged shooting livestream. BY KELVIN CHAN AND ANICK JESDANUN aSSoCiated PreSS

LONDON — Why did Facebook air live video of the New Zealand mosque shootViNCeNt tHiaN / aSSoCiated PreSS ing for 17 minutes? Didn’t Flowers are placed outside the Linwood mosque in anyone alert the company Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday. while it was happening?

Facebook says no. According to its deputy general counsel, Chris Sonderby, none of the 200 or so people who watched the live video flagged it to moderators. In a Tuesday blog post, Sonderby said the first user report didn’t come until 12 minutes after the broadcast ended. All of which raises additional questions — among them, why so many people

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watched without saying anything, whether Facebook relies too much on outsiders and machines to report trouble, and whether users and law enforcement officials even know how to reach Facebook with concerns about what they’re seeing on the service. “When we see things through our phones, we

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imagine that they are like a television show,” said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. “They are at a distance, and we have no power.” Facebook said it removed the video “within minutes” of being notified by New Zealand police. Please see FACEBOOK, Page A6

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Jurors see video of white cop shooting teen HEALTH: Challenges tied to area’s poverty BY RAMESH SANTANAM assoCiated press

PITTSBURGH — Jurors on Tuesday saw a video recording of a white police officer gunning down an unarmed black teenager during a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh last summer, a key piece of evidence at the ex-cop’s homicide trial. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier. Rose was a front-seat passenger in the cab and was shot as he fled. A neighbor who recorded the confrontation said the tone of Rosfeld’s voice is

what got her attention. “That type of tone frightened me myself. It was an angry tone. He was mad at something or someone,” Lashaun Livingston told jurors. A defense lawyer said Livingston was 60 yards away at the time. Earlier Tuesday, as the trial got underway, a prosecutor urged jurors to focus on Rosfeld’s frame of mind when he shot and killed Rose. Prosecutors said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun. “Whatreally,reallymattersis what Michael Rosfeld knew and what he believed and what he thought when he pulled the trig-

ger,” Deputy District Attorney Daniel Fitzsimmons told jurors inhisopeningstatement. Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said Rosfeld did not intend to shoot anyone that day and did nothing wrong in his fatal encounter with Rose. “You think Michael Rosfeld got up on the 19th of June and thought he was going to shoot someone? Of course not,” he said. The video of the shooting was posted online, triggering protests in the Pittsburgh area last year, including a late-night march that shut down a major highway. A jury of six men and six women, including three African-Americans, was selected across the state in Harrisburg last week and will be seques-

tered in a Pittsburgh hotel for the duration of the trial, expected to take a week or more. Debra Jones testified that she was sitting on her porch when she saw Rosfeld shoot Rose just feet away. Rosfeld had thrown the car’s driver to the ground and ordered Rose and the vehicle’s other occupant, Zaijuan Hester, to get out, Jones said. Both fled, and Jones said she heard three gunshots. Jones said she then went to a neighbor’s house, emerging 20 minutes later to see Rose lying face down and in handcuffs, and Rosfeld off to the side with other officers. “He was red. He was very upset. He was crying,” Jones said.

from page a1

As a result, he said he hopes the numbers will continue to dropovertimeand“webecome a healthier community.” Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, also was not surprised that Luzerne County has health challenges. “We have known for some time that the residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania have unhealthy behaviors and it is these behaviors that lead to higher incidences of diseases and poor health outcomes,” Ooms said. Ooms said the area’s health challenges are partially tied to socio-economic status. As the data shows, Luzerne County Contact the writer: has higher incidences of pov- dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com Along with collecting pay- erty caused by more blue col- 570-821-2115, @CVallabaugh ments, the authority has reviewed 724 requests from property owners who want the agency to take another look at the impervious area YATESVILLE — The rent school year with graduon their properties, which determines how much each Pittston Area School District ation on June 7 and the last person pays. Some of those will advertise bids for a pav- day of school on June 11. The board approved the calreviews were on-site inspec- ing project at the Martin L. endar for next year with the tions from a stormwater Mattei Middle School, first day of school on Aug. 25 technician. The rest involved according to a motion and graduation on June 2. an off-site inspection of GIS approved Tuesday by the — Michael P. Buffer school. data and property lines. The project is expected to About 72 percent of reviews resulted in some cost around $180,000, Superadjustment, and the rest did intendent Kevin Booth said. The project area is around not. 37,000 square feet. Contact the writers: The board also approved a NOW OPEN FOR bwellock@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2051, @CVBillW revised calendar for the curTHE SEASON

FEE: If enough money isn’t raised, fines could follow from page a1

Gerald Cross, who represents Plains Twp. on the authority board, noted that the board decided to make sure stormwater fees were paid first because non-member municipalities are also signed on to the regional program to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandate. Also, he noted, should not enough money be raised to do the required work, the federal government could fine all 32 municipalities for not meeting the federal mandate to reduce pollution. “A regional approach requires regional trust,” Cross said. The authority is the administrator of a regional program to meet standards imposed by the EPA for municipalities with MS4 per-

mits whose water eventually drains to the Chesapeake Bay. To that end, the authority has been collecting bills for the first quarter, which were due March 15. It still has thousands of payments to collect. The agency issued 71,152 bills in the first quarter of 2019. That total includes bills sent for the stormwater fee only as well as for people paying both the sanitary service and stormwater fee, according to spokeswoman Donna Gillis. Of those bills, about 51,000 — or close to 72 percent — were paid as of Tuesday morning, according to updated numbers provided by the authority. Within the total are 19,288 bills issued only for the stormwater fee. Within that segment,

10,752 — or about 56 percent — had been paid as of Tuesday morning. Authority officials said they’re not concerned that number is too low, Gillis said. People are still coming to the office to make payments, she said. There was also confusion over whether the fee would be eliminated, Gillis said. Media reports about changes to the fee — the authority adjusted the way it was charging residential customers paying the highest amount — may have spread confusion, she said. The authority had yet to determine whether late payments would incur a penalty.

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lar jobs and wages that are not as competitive as other locations, she said. “Health education is extremely important and ongoing education could mitigate some of the challenges,” she said. While the report shows 29 percent of Luzerne County residents are obese and 25 percent are physically inactive, Ooms said the younger demographic in the region is very physically active. “There are a number of running groups in the region, intramural sports on a corporate or business level and more initiatives focused on healthy foods,” she said. “I think we will begin to see a change in the next few years.”

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Leadership Wilkes-Barre projects benefit community

The attorney general was trying to determine how much to make public.

BY DENISE ALLABAUGH AND BOB KALINOWSKI stAff Writers

Helping children, coming to the aid of the physically and mentally challenged, and empowering down-on-their luck women are just a few of community projects that members of this year’s Leadership Wilkes-Barre class are working on. Other projects in the works include placing mini community libraries inside former newspaper vending machines around the area. Another is teaching preschoolers about health and safety and getting them ready for kindergarten. The sixth project is beautifying downtown Pittston. Leadership Wilkes-Barre is a year-long community service program that educates and trains emerging leaders in the Greater Wilkes-Barre area and encourages networking opportunities. The program is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the area, as class members are tasked with working in teams to develop influential civic projects. This year’s projects include: ■ The Little Leaders group will teach preschoolers at Heights Elementary School about interactive, educational and inspirational experiences. They will provide the children with tote bags with items on dental health, safety and preparing for kindergarten. ■ Leaders in the Outfield will renovate the Wyoming Valley Challengers baseball field in Wilkes-Barre. ■ Learning with Books: A Little Free Library Project will create six mini libraries in former newspaper stands around the area. ■ Dressed to the 9s will help

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BY ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO AND CHAD DAY AssociAted Press

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr scoured special counsel Robert Mueller’s confidential report on the Russia investigation with his advisers Saturday, deciding how much Congress and the American public will get to see about the two-year probe into President Donald Trump and Moscow’s efforts to elect him. Barr was on pace to release his first summary of Mueller’s findings today, people familiar with the process said. The attorney general’s decision on what to BARR finally disclose seems almost certain to set off a fight with congressional Democrats, who want access to all of Mueller’s findings — and supporting evidence — on whether Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether the president later sought to obstruct the investigation. No announcement was expected Saturday as Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and oversaw much of his work, analyzed the report and labored to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions. Mueller delivered his full report to Barr on Friday.

Kristen Mullen / contributing PhotogrAPher

Kelly McDonough, of Scranton, a member of the Leadership Wilkes-Barre team ‘Learning with Books: A Little Free Library Project,’ works on converting an old newspaper box to a free community library at the Wilkes-Barre Department of Public Works building in Wilkes-Barre in February.

dAve scherbenco / stAff PhotogrAPher

Derek Cronauer of Wilkes-Barre gets some help with raffle tickets from Danielle Janeski of Exeter during the fundraiser for the ‘Back to the future, Pittston Edition’ team at Tomato Bar in Pittston in January. organize and do some remodeling at Dress for Success Luzerne County, which provides women with attire to help them secure employment. ■ Back to the Future, Pittston

Edition is working on a beautification project in downtown Pittston and adopted a wing at Wesley Village during the Christmas season. ■ Parks and Restoration is

helping Quality Hill Park Association renovate after a wind storm caused trees to topple fencing around the park last year. Please see PROJECTS, Page A4

Please see REPORT, Page A7 ADVE RTISE M E NT

Stormwater 102: Answering more questions on the controversial fee The stormwater program organized by the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is well underway. Ratepayers’ first bills are back. They will pay for work across 32 communities to meet pollution reduction standards imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for municipalities with municipal separate storm sewer system permits. Planning for more projects that will meet those mandates is ongoing. Readers still have questions, and they’ve written to The Citizens’ Voice about the program. Here are more ques-

DID YOU MISS STORMWATER 101? read the answers to more of your stormwater fee questions on our website, www.citizensvoice.com. tions and answers: Q. What has happened lately? A. First quarter residential bills for stormwater or sanitary service were due March 15. As of March 19, t h e Wyo m i n g Va l l e y S a n i t a r y Authority collected about 72 percent of bills for sanitary service and the stormwater fee and about 56 percent

of bills that only owed for stormwater. Since public meetings this year about the fee, several politicians have jumped in to ask the state or federal government to delay or eliminate it, but to no avail. ■ Q. How much will the fee collect in a single year and will that revenue be needed every year into the foreseeable future? A. The fee will collect a little more than $8 million each year, according to WVSA; $8,016,000 to be precise. Please see FEE, Page A7

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Fee: Feedback resulted in change in schedule FROM PAGE A1

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Historical Society hosts trolley lecture

The Luzerne County Historical Society held a lecture on trolleys Saturday at the historical society in WilkesBarre. The lecture by members of Anthracite Trolleys Inc., Project 790 was called ‘Let’s Take the Trolley! — The Time of the Trolley in the Greater Wilkes-Barre Area.’ The program, by Conrad Baut and Jim Wert, featured a brief sketch of public urban transportation in the Wyoming Valley, from the earliest omnibuses of the 1850s, to the horse-cars of the Civil War era, to the then-new electric trolleys of the Victorian Age, through the 20th century and their final replacement in 1950. The program also featured the story of the only surviving trolley car from the area and outlined plans for its full restoration and future operation. Above: Wert speaks at the Luzerne County Historical Society during Saturday’s trolley presentation.

JASON FARMER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Author discusses mafia book at film festival

Author Charles Brandt, seated, signs a copy of his book ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’ for Jim Peters, of Clarks Summit after speaking about his book Saturday at the NEPA Film Festival in Scranton. Brandt’s nonfiction book, subtitled ‘Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and the Inside Story of the Mafia, the Teamsters & the Last Ride of Jimmy Hoffa,’ has local ties and is the basis for an upcoming Martin Scorsese movie, ‘The Irishman.’ The film festival concludes today. For information, visit nepafilmfestival.com.

RePORT: White House not briefed on findings FROM PAGE A1

The Russia investigation has shadowed Trump for nearly two years and has ensnared his family and close advisers. And no matter the findings in Mueller’s report, the probe already has illuminated Russia’s assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts. Barr has said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision will require him to weigh the Justice Department’s longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren’t indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the president and his campaign. Democrats are already citing the department’s recent precedent of normbreaking disclosures, including during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, to argue that they’re entitled to Mueller’s entire report and

the underlying evidence he collected. Even with the details still under wraps, Friday’s end to the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump’s orbit who had feared a final round of charges could target more Trump associates or members of the president’s family. The White House sought to keep its distance, saying Saturday it had not been briefed on the report. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt,” went golfing and was uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter. Not so one of his guests, musician Kid Rock, who posted a picture with the president and the tweet, “Another great day on the links! Thank you to POTUS for having me and to EVERYONE at Trump International for being so wonderful. What a great man, so down to earth and so fun to be with!!” In a possible foreshadowing of expected clashes between the Justice Department and Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members that Barr’s offer to provide a sum-

mary of principal conclusions was “insufficient.” Pelosi later told Democrats on a conference call that she would reject any kind of classified briefing on the report and that the information must be provided to Congress in a way that would allow lawmakers to discuss it publicly. The conclusion of Mueller’s investigation does not remove legal peril for the president. He faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election. He’s also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president’s inaugural committee. As for Mueller, with no details released at this point, it was not known whether he concluded the campaign colluded with the Kremlin to tip the election in favor of the celebrity businessman. A

Justice Department official did confirm that Mueller was not recommending any further indictments, meaning the investigation had ended without any public charges of a criminal conspiracy, or of obstruction of justice by the president. In a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the congressional Judiciary committees, Barr noted on Friday that the department had not denied any request from Mueller, something Bar r would have been required to disclose to ensure there was no political inference. Trump was never interviewed in person by Mueller’s team, but submitted answers to questions in writing. In a Saturday conference call to strategize on next steps, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a warning for his fellow Democrats, some of whom have pinned high political hopes on Mueller’s findings: “Once we get the principal conclusions of the report, I think it’s entirely possible that that will be a good day for the president and his core supporters.”

PARKS: Group to help Nanticoke playground FROM PAGE A4

Q. Why did you choose this organization to benefit? A. We were able to find out about the damage sustained at Quality Hill Park through the Puck Cancer charity drive held by the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins. Matt, who has a connection and helps

with the event, informed us about the damage they sustained. We felt that due to this connection, along with the fact that the park is operated by an association, that our help would go a long way. Q. What will your team do to make it happen? A. Our team has been busy raising funds and building

relationships with local contractors/construction company’s to find company’s who can assist with the renovations. Team members will complete most of the beautification work such as planting new trees and painting existing structures. Our group held a fundraiser on February 21st at Sabatini’s Pizza in

Exeter. We raised funds at that event, and have also raised money through donations from local individuals and businesses. Q. Where can people learn more about your project? A. Follow our progress on Facebook by following our page @ParksAndRestorationLWB.

and what is the additional payroll? A. Adding stormwater management to its regular responsibilities has been a major under taking for WVSA. Ten full-time employees are involved in stormwater, and 18 more employees do some stormwater work, as well as work on the authority’s sanitary treatment endeavor. New hiring included two stormwater technicians and an engineering technician exclusively working with stormwater, as well as 18 hires who work on stormwater and sanitary issues. The authority also made some internal moves to focus more people on the issue. ■ Q. Will municipalities covered by the program receive pollution-reduction credits for projects already undertaken or planned to be undertaken by other organizations? Will those credits be applied to reduce the scope of the authority’s own projects or allow for lower fees for ratepayers? A. It’s unclear exactly how projects that have already been completed or future projects completed by organizations within the municipalities will count toward the overall pollution reduction goals, but it’s something the authority board is trying to learn. They are also trying to clarify whether completed pollution reduction projects at a home could result in a fee reduction, and whether those projects need to be retrofitted in order to qualify. ■ Q. The authority can apply for grants to help its work. Will grants allow it to reduce fees? A. Possibly. “The amount of grants we receive and how WVSA can use them may influence any re-evaluations of our fee structure,” Gillis wrote. ■ Q. Once initial construction and other work are completed on the projects and the remaining costs are due to maintenance, will there be reductions in the authority’s stormwater payroll or fees? A. Project construction will be taking place through at least the next five years, and further stormwater permit cycles may include additional requirements. “As of now, we are tied to a wait-and-see approach,” Gillis wrote. ■ Q. What’s next? A. The next major development in the program will be issuing the first bills for commercial properties.

That’s a change from the $8.9 million annual program cost the authority originally planned. Public feedback convinced WVSA to change the fee schedule for property owners paying the most and to provide more ways for people to get credits. The fee will be in place for the rest of the five-year permit cycle for the municipal separate storm sewer system permits, said spokeswoman Donna Gillis. That cycle began in 2018. ■ Q. What has the authority been doing to meet pollution reduction requirements, and what is planned in the future? Much of the work so far has involved cleaning debris from catch basins and streets. Cleaner infrastructure reduces the sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen entering waterways, which is the pro g ram’s goal. Authority employees have cleaned more than 400 catch basins, swept more than 650 streets and replaced 18 catch basins. A. Still to come are larger building and restoration projects that will reduce most of the 3.5 million pounds of sediment the municipalities must eliminate to meet EPA requirements. Those include an i m p o u n d m e n t p ro j e c t , stream restorations in several municipalities, stormwater parks and other projects. ■ Q. How will the change of the fee schedule affect how much the program collects? If it is collecting less, how will that affect disbursements? A. At a Jan. 31 meeting, the WVSA board amended the fee structure. The changes reduced the burden on owners of properties with 7,000 square feet or more of impervious surface. They now pay a base fee of $4.80 per month, as well as an additional $1.70 per month for each additional 1,000 square feet of impervious surface. Those changes mean the authority expects to collect $872,000 less per year. The reduced revenue means the agency will pay back a 2017 loan over 20 years instead of three years, Gillis wrote in an email. ■ Q. The money collected by the fee will be kept in a separate fund. What are the safeguards to insure the money is not diverted to other uses? A. The authority has set up the stormwater effort as a separate division within the organization, and it will have its own budget and audit. ■ Q. The authority has set Contact the writer: up a stormwater team and bwellock@citizensvoice.com plans to use its employees to 570-821-2051, @CVBillW perform much of the regular maintenance for stream TRANSMISSION improvement and drainage PROBLEM? projects, such as mowing and From A Leak To A Rebuild! clearing vegetation. How All Makes & Models many employees has the Foreign & Domestic authority added or will add Differential/Transfer Case

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Commercial properties like those in the Hanover Industrial Park, above and below, will likely see some of the largest fees as a result of the stormwater fee.

Commercial properties are about to begin receiving their stormwater bills BY BILL WELLOCK Staff Writer

H A N OV E R T W P. — More stormwater bills are out, and they include some of the largest fees for the program in Luzerne County. The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority has mailed bills to 11,012 commercial properties within the member municipalities of the Regional Stormwater Management Program the authority oversees. Although they’re called “commercial,” the latest round of billing went to a variety of non-residential properties. Businesses, nonprofits, churches, colleges, school districts and city and municipal agencies will all receive bills. Properties are in municipalities that voted to allow WVSA to oversee a shared response to Environmental Protection Agency environmental regulations regarding stormwater. The fee is based on the amount of impervious surface on a property, so a large property like a warehouse in the Hanover Industrial Park will owe much more than a small home or business in Wilkes-Barre, for example. The annual fee for the largest properties runs into

Mark MoraN / Staff PhotograPher

MORE INSIDE deP grants Lehman twp. a waiver that could exempt the municipality from meeting stormwater pollution reduction requirements. Page A6 the thousands of dollars. Real estate parcels with more than 7,000 square feet of impervious surface owe $4.80 per month up to 6,999 square feet of impervious area and $1.70 per month for every 1,000 square feet of impervious area beyond that. That’s under the new fee schedule the authority announced in January, which affected the bill for 4,544 commercial proper-

ties in the highest billing tier. Many of the large properties in industrial parks have large footprints of impervious surface. For example, there is a CVS Caremark mail services pharmacy in Hanover Twp. with about 460,000 square feet of impervious area, including a building, parking lot and driveway, according to Google Maps. Under the fee schedule, that property owes about $744 per month, or about $8,931 per year. The authority held 29 group meetings with commercial property owners ahead of mailing bills to provide an overview of program, share information on estimated bills and credit

opportunities and take questions and comments. “On behalf of its 32 participating municipalities, WVSA remains committed to meeting unfunded mandates through collaboration, cost-efficiencies, and ongoing communications with public stakeholders,” said WVSA executive director James Tomaine in a press release. “While the stormwater management program was designed to ensure the most cost-effective approach for complying with these regulations, we’re cognizant of the financial strains this places on our communities and have made adjustments to mitigate those burdens.” Please see BILLS, Page A6

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is calling on Republicans to revive the effort to quash the Affordable Care Act, handing Democrats an opportunity to unite in defense of the law as they try to move past the Russia investigation and win the White House in 2020. Trump’s administration is asking a federal appeals court to strike down the entire health care law. The president vowed on Tuesday to make the GOP the “party of health care” and told Senate Republicans to lean into their own agenda on the issue as they head into next year’s election. The moves could help Trump rally his conservative base as he celebrates Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that said there was no evidence that the president or his associates colluded with Russia in the 2016 campaign. But the push also poured political kerosene on an issue that many Democrats credit with powering their midterm election victories in November. Top Democrats, including presidential candidates, said health care is an issue that resonates with voters more

TRUMP than the Mueller investigation. “This is something that Americans care deeply about,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a White House hopeful. “I may not have been asked about the Mueller report at town hall meetings, but I was sure asked about health care.” Other Democrats appeared to relish the chance to shift to health care. Asked if the Trump administration’s court filing allowed Democrats to turn the page on Mueller, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would have been talking about health care no matter what. “We have been dealing with health care constantly,” the California Democrat said. “The public attention has been on the Mueller report, but we have been focused on health care.” Please see HEALTH, Page A5

OxyContin maker agrees to $270M settlement in Okla. First settlement in wave of lawsuits over firm’s role in deadly opioid crisis. BY SEAN MURPHY AND GEOFF MULVIHILL aSSociated PreSS

with their aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller. It is the first settlement to come out of the recent coast-to-coast wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue Pharma that threaten to push the company into bankruptcy and have stained the name of the Sackler family, whose members rank among the world’s foremost philanthropists.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The maker of OxyContin and the company’s controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis Please see OXYCONTIN, Page A5

Event allows people to experience poverty Simulation allows a glimpse into life of low-income families and individuals. BY DENISE ALLABAUGH Staff Writer

Mark MoraN / Staff PhotograPher

Vanessa Durland, left, and Shelley Seabrooks, center, report to probation with officers John Alunni and Kathleen McGlynn during the Cost of Poverty Experience poverty simulation Tuesday at The Woodlands Inn in Plains Twp.

PLAINS TWP. — Luzerne County Head Start family educator Breanna Santarsiero took on the role Tuesday of a 30-year-old mother of four children who just got out of a drug and alcohol treatment facility. She was one of about 150 people who participated in a

poverty simulation event. Luzerne County’s Mental Health and Developmental Services Department hosted the Cost of Poverty Experience at The Woodlands Inn in Plains Twp. It gave participants a glimpse into a month in the life of low-income individuals and families. As part of the event, Santarsiero was homeless, living in a shelter, trying to make it to work every day and do everything necessary to get her children back. She walked around to see various

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Luzerne County and social services officials at tables during the event. “I learned that it is very difficult to utilize the resources in the community if you don’t know where they are, if you don’t have transportation, if you don’t know how they work or what services are offered,” Santarsiero said. “I definitely think this workshop is beneficial and will help me in the future because I have more of an understanding and a greater sense of empathy.” Shelley Seabrooks, a case-

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Border emergency survives veto override. Page a10

worker for Luzerne County Children & Youth, spent part of her time in the poverty simulation event in jail. She played the role of a husband who was arrested for failing to report for probation. “I didn’t report last week because I had to go to wellness to get my medication,” she said. “I had been at wellness all day and by the time I made it, it was closed. When I showed up this week to go, I ended up getting put in jail.” Please see POVERTY, Page A7

WB_VOICE/PAGES [A06] | 03/26/19

LOCAL / STATE

A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

BILLS: Adjustments can result in credits From Page a1

is still waiting for the bill, spokesman Cody Chapman said. Luzerne County manager David Pedri said he wants to work with WVSA on a mutual aid a g reement between the county and the authority. “We provide mapping and planning and zoning support to them,” he said. “Maybe we can work something out that would be in the best interest of all the taxpayers.”

Some of the adjustments include making it easier to get credit that will lower a bill for residential or commercial property owners. For example, non-urbanized parcels receive a 15 percent credit. Additionally, lowimpact parcels, which meet certain criteria, can earn up to 30 percent credit. Because bills have recently gone out, many commercial properties may still be wait- Contact the writer: ing for the actual bill. Mohe- bwellock@citizensvoice.com gan Sun Pocono, for example, 570-821-2051, @CVBillW

Opening prayer called divisive aSSoCIaTeD PreSS

HARRISBURG — The first female Muslim member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says she was offended by a colleague’s decision to open session with a prayer that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.” Democratic Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell of Philadelphia said Tuesday she felt the remarks by Rep. Stephanie Borowicz shortly before Johnson-Harrell took the oath of

office used her religion against her. Borowicz is a Republican and associate pastor’s wife. She also thanked President Donald Trump during the Monday invocation for standing behind Israel. She later defended her remarks, saying, “I pray every day. I prayed.” Democratic leaders called the remarks divisive. Johnson-Harrell won a special election this month. Her swearing-in drew 55 guests, a majority of them Muslim.

BY BILL WELLOCK STaFF WrITer

LEHMAN TWP. — The Department of Environmental Protection has granted Lehman Twp. a waiver that could exempt the municipality from meeting stormwater pollution reduction requirements. But the township joined with other municipalities to meet stormwater requirements, and it has legal and financial obligations to them, said Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority executive director James Tomaine. The recently granted waiver exempts the municipality from a municipal separate storm sewer system permit. Permit holders with water that drains to the Chesapeake Bay must meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards to reduce sediment, phosphorous and nitrogen. The township received the waiver for two reasons, DEP

spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said. The East Branch of Harveys Creek within the township is not considered impaired, and the township meets population criteria to qualify for a waiver. A municipality can qualify for a waiver if its urbanized population is less than 1,000 and its total population is less than 10,000. The waiver applies for five years. David Sutton, chairman of the township’s board of supervisors, said the waiver was a benefit to township residents. He said township officials will begin talks with WVSA to see if the township can exit the agreement. “I’m more than pleased,” he said. The township filed for a waiver Feb. 1 through its engineer. A DEP email shows the department sent a response via certified mail on March 20. Most Luzer ne County

municipalities in that position voted to join together and have WVSA organize their response. Lehman Twp. was one of those municipalities. It was one of 32 municipalities that voted to join. Kingston Twp., Dallas Twp. and Dallas have authorized the Dallas Area Municipal Authority to handle stormwater for them. Warrior Run did not join a collective response and must meet EPA requirements on its own. “I think it was a good thing,” Sutton said. “Obviously it was something we looked at and thought it was the best thing for our residents.” But it’s unclear exactly what must happen for the township to leave the group of municipalities it joined to respond to the EPA mandate. Lehman Twp. officials signed intergovernmental agreements in June 2017 and in July 2017 to join the pro-

gram. The July 2017 agreement was an agreement between all the municipalities in the program. “Lehman Township applied for the waiver after voluntarily committing both legally and financially to 31 other municipalities to participate in the Regional Stormwater Management Program (RSMP). Lehman Township has not presented a plan to WVSA as to how it will meet its financial obligations to its 31 municipal partners in order to seek removal from the program,” Tomaine said in a statement. “Until Lehman Township initiates steps to discharge its legal and financial obligations to its municipal partners and WVSA, Lehman Township continues to be legally and financially committed to the RSMP.” Contact the writer: bwellock@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2051, @CVBillW

LUZERNE COUNTY GRANT FUNDING From Page a3

■ Hazleton, $50,000 in funding to help with the ■ Dorrance Twp., $80,000 purchase of a fire departfor a tar and chip project. ment utility truck. ■ Hazleton, $182,944 for ■ Nescopeck Borough, funding for its Fire State $175,000 for aDa ramp Water remediation Projproject. ■ Penn Lake, $75,000 for ect. ■ Hazleton, $37,500 for stormwater improvethe Hazleton regional airments. ■ Hazle Twp., 79,000 for port to purchase equipment. a feasibility study for the ■ Hazleton, $50,000 to Hazleton Indoor recreinstall turf and sports netational Facility. ■ Hazleton, $100,000 for ting at its community athletic center. phase II development of ■ West Hazleton, Hazleton Central Park. $225,000 for repairs to ■ Hazleton, $38,000 for Jaycee Drive Bridge. the Castle auditorium Community arts Center to ■ White Haven, $37,116 to purchase a new police purchase equipment. vehicle. ■ Hazleton, $47,500 for a Luzerne County projects comprehensive park and funded by the Multimodal recreation plan for the city.

Send questions about the news or sports issues that you want to know more about to reporters and editors via citizensvoice.com/askthevoice or citydesk@citizensvoice.com or call 570-301-2180. We’ll take a look at the topics and issues that are important to you and report our ﬁndings in print and online.

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DEP grants waiver to Lehman Twp.

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Transportation Fund (11), for a total of $4.63 million, include: ■ ashley, $300,000 for the ashley main Street Streetscape project. ■ Dupont Borough, $151,236 for replacement and expansion of Collins Creek Bridge. ■ Forty Fort, $600,000 for a pedestrian/bike trail to connect with existing levee trail. ■ Hanover Twp., $500,000 for a roadway linking reclaimed earth Conservancy land to the South Valley Parkway. ■ Hanover Twp., $200,000 for sidewalks and bus shelters ■ the Hanover Industrial estates.

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