Drought watch declared in most of Greater Philadelphia
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) declared a drought watch in 36 counties, including Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia. The DEP bases its declarations on four indicators — stream flow, groundwater level, precipitation and soil moisture — after assessing the departures from the normal ranges for periods of three to 12 months. It also factors in information it receives from public water suppliers.
Source: DEP; 9/7/2022

N.J. wants to negotiate out-of-state income taxes for commuters
New Jersey officials have announced bipartisan legislation they hope will give the state more leverage in negotiating income taxes for New Jersey residents who commute out-of-state for work or work from home. Nearby places like New York, Connecticut and Philadelphia apply what is known as a “convenience of the employer” rule to income taxes. That means, in most cases, if you live in New Jersey and work in any of those places, you’d be double taxed in New Jersey and the other location. Currently, New Jersey does not use the same system; however, if the measure is enacted, the state would essentially create a reciprocal tax for workers who reside outside of the Garden State. The proposal, announced by Gov. Phil Murphy, would do three things: allow the state to tax workers who live in other places; provide a tax credit for New Jersey residents who sue other jurisdictions for double taxation and win; and establish a $10 million pilot grant program for companies that relocate to or reassign residents to offices in New Jersey.
Source: WHYY; 9/6/2022

Municipalities are updating their stormwater ordinances
Hundreds of Pennsylvania municipalities are making technical amendments to their stormwater management ordinances. The changes are mostly mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and are intended to improve the water quality of streams, rivers and ultimately the larger bodies of water into which they flow. DEP estimates that some 950 municipalities in the state will need to have adopted changes by the end of September to remain in compliance with state law. Alliance staff have observed this trend bear out in the public notices published throughout the region.
Source: York Daily Record; 8/25/2022

PA Health Department again offers potassium iodide tablets to residents near nuclear plants
The Department of Health will offer free potassium iodide (KI) tablets on Thursday, Sept. 15, to residents who are within 10 miles of the state's four active nuclear power plants as part of routine preventive efforts in case of future radiological emergencies. Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in York County and Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County are within 10 miles of suburban Philadelphia. "It's important to remember potassium iodide should only be taken when instructed to do so by state health officials or the governor, and it is not a replacement for evacuation in the case of a radiological emergency at one of Pennsylvania's four active nuclear facilities," said Acting Secretary of Health and Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson.
Source: PA Department of Health; 9/2/2022

BCWSA chair will request halt to $1.1B sale discussions
Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority Board Chairperson John Cordisco announced he will ask the rest of the board to halt exploring a $1.1 billion offer from Aqua Pennsylvania to sell the authority’s wastewater system. The announcement came after negative reactions from ratepayers and local officials. All three Bucks County commissioners announced they were against the deal. Read more from LevittownNow. The county could have netted as much as $1 billion in profit from the sale of the system.
Source: LevittownNow.com; 9/6/2022

Waste Management looks to build renewable natural gas facilities near Falls landfills
A proposed $90 million project by Waste Management to build two adjacent buildings where greenhouse gas emissions created by waste decomposition can be turned into natural gas was approved by the Falls Township Planning Commission on Aug. 23. Waste Management intends to build the two 20,000-square-foot facilities on a 47-acre parcel on New Ford Mill Road, an industrial area near the landfills. According to Waste Management, greenhouse gas emissions created by waste decomposition at the landfills can be turned into natural gas to serve 65,000 homes or fuel 2,700 heavy-duty trucks. Adam Strough, project manager for the Waste Management Renewable Energy division, said that the company is investing approximately $800 million in 17 such projects throughout the country over the next four years and the Falls plant would be the largest. The plan must still go before the township supervisors for final approval.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 9/2/2022

Bristol Borough School District cancels prior-year student meal debt
Since the start of the pandemic, schools across the nation have been feeding students for free through the federal universal free lunch program. Students and families were also not asked to pay any pre-pandemic lunch debt that had accumulated prior to the pandemic. The expiration of the federal lunch program means that schools can resume their policies to collect the debt. Bristol Borough School District instead decided to forgive the $21,000 of debt on its books. The forgiveness came with an announcement that the district would collect debt incurred starting with the current school year. So far, Bristol Borough is the only school district in Bucks County that has outright eliminated prior school meal debt.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 9/4/2022

Developer halts bid to build 174-unit, age-restricted housing in Hilltown
Hilltown Township officials confirmed that Lennar Construction has withdrawn a request for changes to local zoning laws that would allow the developer to construct a 174-unit, 55-and-older community. The withdrawal came shortly before a hearing before Hilltown’s board of supervisors, which were poised to vote on whether to grant the zoning relief. Lennar did not give a reason why it was withdrawing the zoning amendment requests. The developer had faced stiff opposition from residents who were concerned the development was much denser housing than current zoning laws allowed, in addition to concerns about traffic, excessive stormwater runoff, environmental hazards, intrusive lighting, the need to hire more police officers and decreased property values for nearby residents. The township planning commission voted 4-1 to recommend the supervisors grant the zoning relief with conditions.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 9/6/2022

Bensalem ramp to Route 1 south to close until 2024
PennDOT announced it will close a southbound U.S. Route 1 ramp for bridge construction in Bensalem. The ramp from Rockhill Drive at the Neshaminy Interchange will close on Tuesday, Sept. 13. During the closure, drivers will be directed to use northbound Route 1, exit at Penndel/Business Route 1 and turn left at a temporary traffic signal at the bottom of the ramp onto Old Lincoln Highway to access the ramp to southbound Route 1. PennDOT is reconstructing and widening almost three miles of Route 1, improving the interchanges and constructing several new bridges. The projects are estimated to cost in excess of $200 million.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 9/6/2022

Westtown Township to hold public meeting on open space referendum
Westtown Township will hold a special informational meeting on its open space referendum. Residents will have an opportunity to listen to guest speakers and ask questions to better understand the tax referendum question that will be on the general election ballot in November. The township is proposing a blended tax increase to fund preservation of Crebilly Farm, with 50% of the cost funded by earned income tax (EIT) and 50% by real estate taxes. If voters approve, the EIT will increase from 1% to 1.08% and the real estate tax would go from 3.5 mills to 3.92 mills. Answers to many of the questions that residents have already raised can be found on the township’s Crebilly Farm page. The meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. at Rustin High School Auditorium. 
Source: Westtown Township; 9/2022

Small business incubator coming to Coatesville
The Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance announced it will create a small business incubator at 228 E. Lincoln Highway, where the former Coatesville Army-Navy store was located. The Made in Coatesville Small Business Incubator will provide a physical location for entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their products and services, along with flexible business education programming, and will have regular shopping hours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Source: Daily Local; 9/4/2022

Oxford Borough looks to fill vacancies
Oxford Borough Council is looking to fill a council seat vacated on Aug. 15 by Mary Higgins. The term runs through January 2024. The council will consider applications from interested residents and expects to appoint the new member at its meeting on Monday, Sept. 12. The borough is also seeking to fill a vacancy on the planning commission. The term runs until 2023. Some of the duties include revising and creating new ordinances, revising the comprehensive plan, addressing planning issues, and reviewing subdivision and land development plans. Borough residents interested in applying to join borough council or the planning commission should send a letter of interest to manager@oxfordboro.org.
Source: Oxford Borough; 9/2022

First responders aim to provide coverage in western Chester County
When Tower Health relocated its TowerDirect medic units out of Coatesville and surrounding areas, more than a dozen towns in Chester County and two towns in Lancaster County lost Medic 93’s coverage of their long-standing Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance coverage. Several nearby departments have stepped up to help to fill the void. Minquas Fire Company of Downingtown, Westwood Fire Company of Coatesville and Good Fellowship Ambulance of West Chester have all taken on additional primary ALS coverage areas. An additional MICU (Mobile Intensive Care Unit), which consists of a paramedic and EMT, is being stationed at the Thorndale Fire Company after the two departments came to an agreement to house the ambulance there. The unit will have primary ALS coverage in Caln Township. Westwood Fire Company also has placed into service a new unit, a paramedic chase vehicle that will be housed at the Sadsburyville Fire Company and will have primary coverage in Sadsbury and part of Lancaster County. Good Fellowship Ambulance is also picking up additional coverage with an already existing MICU that is on Route 322 in East Bradford. They will now have primary coverage in part of West Bradford and Newlin Townships. The three companies picking up the additional coverage area shows the strain on local EMS companies. Tower’s Brandywine Hospital closed several months ago, and crews are still dealing with long transport times and waits at other local hospitals that are also strained due to the additional patient loads coming in.
Source: Daily Local; 9/6/2022

New apartment building replaces burnt Ashwood apartments
After the Ashwood apartment building in North Coventry Township was gutted by fire two years ago, Janel Loughlin purchased the property and worked to rebuild within the same footprint as the previous structure. Like its predecessor, the new building has 45 apartments. Due to zoning issues, Loughlin had a one-year deadline to submit approved plans to rebuild the previous building, otherwise she could have only built eight units. The rebuilt apartments are now named “Parkview on Worth” because they overlook Kenilworth Park. The building went up in 19 months and was constructed by Salvo Construction of Chalfont. North Coventry Township Manager Erica Batdorf said “the township is very pleased that this has been rebuilt. It’s definitely an improvement and it fits within the context of the neighborhood.” The building boasts 15 one-bedroom apartments and 30 two-bedroom apartments, each with a large modern kitchen, and a washer and dryer. Loughlin said rents are between $1,495 and $2,495 per month, meaning none of the people who had lived at Ashwood will likely be able to afford to return.
Source: Daily Local; 9/2/2022