Senate Bill 351 was co-sponsored locally by state Senator Pat Browne (R). I wrote a quick letter of thanks to him today. Synopsis here.

Senator Browne,

Thank you for co-sponsoring Senate Bill 351 allowing municipalities to create local Stormwater Authorities. Your leadership in this area is appreciated. Recently, I won the Republican primary as the highest vote getter here in Lower Macungie Township running largely on a platform of ensuring that developers pay their own way in terms of mitigating their negative impact. This includes traffic, infrastructure and of course stormwater.

As you know, Lower Macungie is one of the fastest growing in the state. This is a tool we can explore utilizing to ensure private developers are held responsible for costs to mitigate their stormwater impact. This can now be accomplished by providing incentives for private stormwater management therefore reducing costs to local governments and most importantly the taxpayers

We have flooding issues here in Lower Macungie that we have to get a handle on. This is a tool to do that. Additionally as you know the quality of our streams directly affect the city of Allentown as we are a major source of drinking water for the city and region.

Thank you,
Ron Beitler

 

How your local state officials voted on this legislation:
State Senate passed 49-1
Bob Mensch – YES
Pat Browne – YES

State House passed 135-66
Gary Day – YES
Mike Schlossberg – YES
Ryan Mackenzie – NO
Justin Simmons – NO