ARRO to Prepare First Zoning Ordinance for Morgan County, WV
 

ARRO is pleased to announce that it has been selected to serve as the zoning ordinance consultant for Morgan County, West Virginia. 
 
The Morgan County Planning Commission, who decided in 2009 to develop its first-ever zoning ordinance, knew that it would need a trusted consultant to help with the endeavor.  In order to assist the Planning Commission and the land use subcommittee in developing a zoning ordinance, the Committee issued an RFP for professional assistance. Having performed plan reviews for Morgan County for several years, ARRO was well-positioned to understand the issues and concerns held by the County and its constituents, and was excited by the opportunity to further work with its colleagues at the County.  Confident that it could satisfy the County’s demands, ARRO responded to, and won, the contract in January 2010. 
 
A draft of the zoning ordinance, which should be completed by May 2010, will encompass all of Morgan County, except for two municipalities: the Town of Bath (Berkeley Springs), which is also the County seat, and Paw Paw. The ordinance will ultimately be placed in front of the citizens for consideration and a vote by public referendum in November 2010.
 
Catherine Parks, from ARRO’s Hagerstown, MD office, will help the subcommittee write the zoning ordinance while Richard Parks, P.E. will provide technical, engineering and mapping services. More information on the project, which was featured in a recent edition of the Morgan Messenger, can be found here.
 
With commercial and industrial development primarily located along the Route 522 corridor, Morgan County is dominated by rural residential development, and is located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, approximately 45 miles west of Hagerstown, Maryland.
 
For more information or questions on this project, please contact Richard Parks. 
 
 
EPA Proposed Stormwater Rulemaking
 

Over the next two years, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning on reworking the stormwater permit process. With specific attention to MS4 permits, the EPA has announced its plans to strengthen national stormwater regulations by establishing a program that reduces stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment, in addition to other regulatory improvements. The following items, covered at a recent presentation held by the EPA, gives some insight as to what they are considering: 
 

• Expand the universe of regulated discharges beyond urbanized area
• Establish substantive post-construction requirements for new and redevelopment
• Develop a single set of consistent requirements for all MS4s, in place of existing “Phase I” and “Phase II” rules
• Address stormwater discharges from existing development through retrofitting
• In response to the Executive Order, consider additional requirements to further reduce stormwater impacts in the Chesapeake Bay

 
ARRO will continue to follow these developments and will provide updates to our clients as necessary.  For more details and questions regarding the EPA proposed stormwater rulemaking, please contact Phillip Brath, E.I.T.
 
 

Bethlehem Township Act 537 Plan Receives Reimbursement Funding
 
ARRO’s completion of a Township-wide, Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan for Bethlehem Township has resulted in the receipt of a reimbursement “grant” from the PA DEP in the amount of just over $63,000.00.  Steve Hunsberger, Director Physical Plant and Information Systems, and Bethlehem Township Municipal Authority (BTMA) Director was contacted by State Senator Lisa Boscola’s office (D, 18th Dist.) informing him of the good news. According to Hunsberger, “This is truly the outcome of good engineering and planning from Larry Dietrich and Bill Bohner of ARRO (sic), in working diligently on this project.” 
 
The grant, amounting to 50% of the total cost of the plan, represented the full amount requested by the Township. Obtaining the full amount - without any deductions of any expenses – is in part due to detailed tracking of all eligible costs for reimbursement by Township/Authority and ARRO staff. During a time when grants of this nature are being reviewed in great detail to ensure that state dollars are being used appropriately, receiving the full requested amount was a sign of “flat out just good engineering and communications with DEP personnel” added Hunsberger. “From the Township as well as the BTMA, I would like to thank you Larry and Bill!”
 
The Plan, which generally establishes present and future wastewater disposal needs, included a number of other components including:
 

• Detailed flow projection evaluations based on existing development, immediate planned development, and the potential for future development of undeveloped parcels (an effort coordinated closely with Township personnel);
• The completion of well water sampling and on-lot disposal system surveys in an effort to establish wastewater ‘needs’ areas;
• The utilizing of GIS to establish the mapping associated with the Plan;
• Utilizing GIS to model the collection and conveyance system network to identify locations needing modifications or upgrades to meet the projected wastewater needs;
• Sanitary sewer flow monitoring to determine the role that inflow and infiltration plays in the Township’s collection and conveyance system;
• Working in concert with the Township, the Authority, and the City of Bethlehem to establish a basis for collection, conveyance, and treatment needs in the City.  To that end, the Township worked diligently in the establishing of an intermunicipal agreement among the City, Township, and key developers.  This agreement became a part of the Township’s 537 Plan;
• Development of a draft septage management program to be utilized by the Township for managing on-lot disposal systems in the Township;
• Close coordination with PA DEP to discuss and address their concerns relating to the findings of the Township’s Plan and its impact on planning related issues associated with the City of Bethlehem’s on-going Act 537 Planning efforts.

 
The preparation of the Plan, which was funded by the BTMA, was highlighted by the cooperative effort between ARRO, Township and BTMA staff.  With all parties dedicating the necessary level of energy towards ensuring a functional planning document that would benefit the Township and its constituents, this success is shared equally between ARRO and its client(s).
 
For more information or questions regarding this project, please contact Larry Dietrich.

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