I was recently approached by Chadds Ford Township Supervisor Deborah Love D'Elia about seeking federal grant money for restoration of Harvey Run and Brandywine Creek. I'm happy to work on this stream restoration. It is an issue that I feel strongly about and one that I have been aggressively working on since my recent election.
In fact, I have already been working with Rhona Klein, who is running for supervisor. She has substantial experience with comprehensive plan review and storm water management, on a much more comprehensive approach that takes advantage of existing watershed management plans to best define the problems we are facing. Ms. Klein, with a master's degree in public administration and a specific concentration in energy and environmental policy, offers a wealth of knowledge and experience.
The storm two weekends ago, in which we were deluged with nearly 5.5 inches of rain, serves as a reminder of the need for proper watershed management and restoration. We have had similar wake-up calls, like the 2004 flood. However, flooding is not the only problem our waterways face.
One of the biggest threats comes from the indirect runoff of pollutants from our everyday lives -- oil from our streets and parking lots and excess fertilizer and herbicides that runoff from our lawns.
That is why, in addition to touring municipalities to see the impacts of the 2004 floods and to discern how best to address the problem, I have met with interested parties with substantive experience like Rhona Klein to develop a comprehensive plan that we can all help implement, including:
a) Jeff Featherstone, an expert in flood plain mapping from Temple University, about our outdated mapping. That has significant impact not just on insurance rates, but it also means we are developing and doing water management on bad data.
b) The Army Corps of Engineers about the need to have a comprehensive review and to ask them to survey the district and outline a plan to do so.
c) Individual watershed organizations about their current watershed plans. While their plans provide an important agenda for improving water quality and adopting better stormwater controls, a comprehensive solution to the flooding problems and full restoration of watersheds requires a larger scale, holistic approach, including new mapping and a full analysis of current conditions.
d) I also held a joint meeting with almost all of the local watershed groups in the district and with the Army Corps to review the corps' proposal for the comprehensive approach they had developed for me as a district-wide watershed management plan including funding requirements.
We must work on three phases to accomplish our goals:
(1) The corps would conduct a reconnaissance study, costing about $250,000 for which I will seek federal funding. We would also seek out interested, non-federal entities like the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to partner with the corps for the study. I am committed to working with Gov. Rendell and district representatives from our state legislature to ensure this partnership happens.
(2) Once the non-federal partner is identified, we would conduct a feasibility study with the corps, which would consist of detailed data collection and evaluation, formulation of several alternative plans, and a report making specific recommendations to Congress. This process typically cost around $2-4 million, which is cost-shared between federal and non-federal partners, and could take from two to five years depending on how soon the money was available.
(3) Once the feasibility study is completed and the resulting report is submitted to Congress, the recommended project can then receive authorization for construction, which I will pursue through the Water Resources Development Act.
This will take time, but the recent storm reminded us, we can't wait any longer. What we do today will have a significant impact on our watersheds tomorrow.
I have been aggressively addressing this issue, and we are fortunate that Chadds Ford has equally committed individuals, like Rhona Klein, who have the knowledge and the experience to tackle the issue of watershed management in a substantive and comprehensive way.
Joe Sestak is the Democratic U.S. Rep. from the 7th Congressional District in Pennsylvania.
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