LANCASTER TWP — The township Monday approved the payment of more than $8,000 to help fund a study researching ways to mitigate flooding in the county's southern tier.

That study, part of a project on stormwater management in the lower Connoquenessing watershed, stems from meetings between the county and nine municipalities that have an interest in helping solve the issue — Adams, Cranberry, Jackson and Lancaster townships, as well as Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Seven Fields and Zelienople boroughs — and would study the release rates of water into the watershed from various areas in each municipality.

The nine municipalities who are participating in these meetings are expected to split among themselves 80 percent of the cost of the study, while Butler County will cover 20 percent. The total — cost of the study and for engineering firm Herbert, Rowland and Grubic to engineer three projects for each municipality, is $76,380.

County commissioners unanimously approved a measure to pay HRG its share at their Feb. 5 meeting. The hiring of the firm is contingent upon all municipalities agreeing to pay.

Harmony, perhaps the municipality most affected by flooding in the southern half of the county, considered approval of its share of the cost at its Feb. 4 meeting, but ultimately tabled the measure until March over concerns about price. Harmony's share would be about $5,500.

Tom Thompson, who serves as Lancaster's engineer, said the study would build upon another one conducted in 2011 ahead of the municipalities' implementation of Act 167 plans.

That study, he said, ran out of funding before it was able to identify possible mitigation actions.

“It's a good opportunity to have that funding in place to be able to determine what the release rate should be for Lancaster,” Thompson added.

Board of supervisors chairman Joe Plesniak said it's a positive example of cooperation between the municipalities.

“This has been a concern for a long time, stormwater management (and) runoff,” Plesniak said. “And this would be the first step in everybody working together to eventually possibly getting the discharge rates slowed down.”

If approved by all of the participants, HRG would take roughly four weeks to study the release rates and another 10 weeks to finalize the accompanying projects. If there are not three feasible projects in one municipality, another would take up an additional project.

Signing on

The township Monday approved bylaws for a newly structured emergency management agency, joining a growing number of municipalities to do so.

The Seneca Area EMA, which ultimately would consist of Jackson and Lancaster townships plus Harmony and Zelienople boroughs, would be an intergovernmental incorporated agency responsible for the mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery from natural, technological and man-made disasters.

In addition to the bylaws, all four municipalities must approve a formal intergovernmental cooperative agreement before the agency has power to act.

John Kovacic serves as Seneca Area EMA's operating director and chairman.