Doylestown to study navigable water policy Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 11:15 am | Updated: 11:17 am, Tue Sep 16, 2014. By Edward Levenson Correspondent Doylestown Borough Council is not yet ready to say a proposed expansion of the federal Clean Water Act is all wet. But council on Monday night did direct the borough’s Environmental Advisory Committee to study the potential effects of a major regulatory change proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, which share jurisdiction over navigable waters under the Clean Water Act. The federal agencies would expand the definition of “navigable waters” to include almost any area through which water flows on its way to a navigable river or lake downstream. This would include ditches, natural or man-made ponds, and floodplains, according to the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs. It is possible the Doylestown Borough Dam, for instance, could fall under federal jurisdisction since it drains into Country Club Creek, which empties into Neshaminy Creek, which in turn flows into the Delaware River 20 miles away. Councilman Joe Flood urged council to pass a resolution drafted by the boroughs association opposing the expansion of federal control over non-navigable waterways. The resolution, in part, stated the change would significantly harm farmers and businesses, impose burdensome federal regulations on communities and negatively impact public infrastructure such as roadside ditches and flood-control channels. “There is the notion that Washington knows better than we do on this,” said Flood, adding the regulation would strip away a municipality’s rights over waterways within its boundaries. Other council members said they would like to have more information on the issue before taking a position. Council voted 7-2 not to adopt the resolution at this time, with only Flood and David Lausten in favor of adoption. It then voted unanimously to have the environmental committee look into the matter and make a recommendation to council. Council President Det Ansinn said the borough in the past has challenged government regulations that it felt were unreasonable or burdensome. For example, Doylestown fought the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection over a rule that would have required homeowners to submit a full-blown stormwater management plan for any construction, even a deck or a patio. “The people who make decisions should be the people closest to the issue,” Ansinn said. He noted that legislation has been introduced in Congress to block the agencies from changing the definition of “navigable waters” as spelled out in the original 1972 law. Councilman Don Berk said the redefinition may be a good idea to deal with pollution that originates some distance from a navigable waterway. Richard Tems, a Doylestown resident, said the bureaucracy is attempting to rewrite the Clean Water Act without authorization from Congress. “The fact is they have decided to change the law without any right to do do. This gives them control over every wet spot in America,” he said.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:41:23 +0000
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