SANATOGA PA – There’s strength in numbers, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township commissioners agree.

The Board of Commissioners recently authorized the township to spend $250 a year to become a member of the Montgomery County (PA) Consortium of Communities, a group of 40 municipalities within the county who have banded together to share the costs of some services and supplies.

And, it should be added, to do a little lobbying.

Of particular interest to commissioners was the consortium’s hiring earlier this year of a Blue Bell PA attorney who specializes in environmental law. The consortium asked him to meet with the Pennsylvania  Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and attempt to negotiate how new state regulations on storm water management will be written. Those rules are expected to be announced next month.

Storm water management is a touchy topic in Lower Pottsgrove. Township sewers tend to overflow when the weather gets wet, and it currently operates under a “corrective action plan” approved by the DEP. The plan is part of the reason the township Sewer Authority expects to spend millions of dollars in coming years to fix leaking pipes, stop water from being illegally drained into the sewers, and increase sewage treatment capacity.

The anticipated regulations reportedly could double the cost municipalities currently pay to manage rainfall and water run-off during and after inclement weather. The consortium’s representative, attorney Douglas Blazey, is a former official with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Board members voted unanimously June 18 (2009) to endorse the consortium’s articles of agreement, have the township become a member, pay the yearly dues, and have township representatives participate in consortium activities.

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