Stormwater fee tabled, but stark fiscal challenges stand for Allegheny Township

A plan to provide dedicated funding for Allegheny Township’s stormwater system is on hold.

On Monday, supervisors tabled a proposed ordinance that would charge most homeowners an $8 monthly stormwater fee after hearing some disapproval, but mostly confusion, from a packed room of residents.

“I’m not sure if I’m for it or against it, but it hasn’t been well thought out,” said resident Ray Painter.

The proposal comes as the township runs short on time to comply with its MS4 plan, short for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has given the township until September 2026 to make good on its MS4 plan for the first time since 2007.

LSSE engineer Shawn Wingrove estimated it will take up to $1.4 million to make that happen, which is a tall task for a township on track to deplete its reserves by 2027 and up against the maximum real estate tax millage allowed in Westmoreland County.

“We don’t have any money,” supervisors Chairman Jamie Morabito said late into the almost three-hour meeting, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

The fee would generate an estimated $650,000.

In general, costs would be proportional to how much of a property prevents water from seeping into the ground. Parking lots, roofs, swimming pools — basically anything that isn’t a lawn or wild area — all qualify as a so-called impervious area.

The owner of a single-family home on a lot smaller than 5 acres would owe $8 a month.

For single-family homes on lots 5 acres or larger, the fee would scale with its impervious area.

The same is true for nonresidential parcels of any size, including ones owned by the Kiski Area School District and the township’s two volunteer fire departments.

No one would be exempt from the fee, including the township itself.

Kiski Area Superintendent Jason Lohr estimated that the district has more than 1 million square feet of impervious area in the township, meaning it would be out at least $18,000 a year. He asked for a waiver, noting the cost would likely be passed back to taxpayers come district budget season.

An ongoing case in the state Supreme Court examining whether stormwater charges amount to a fee or a tax could take care of that for him, since districts do not have to pay municipal taxes.

Liane Newell, a member of the Markle Volunteer Fire Department, also requested that her station be exempt.

As the ordinance stands, residents and organizations would have some ways of reducing their fees, either through an appeals process that examines the amount of eligible square footage, or a credit program that slashes them by up to 50% for properties with stormwater runoff mitigation measures, such as retention ponds and rain gardens.

Within the county, only the borough of Delmont and city of Latrobe have passed similar ordinances. No townships have — a fact that made Supervisor Mike Korns uneasy.

“I don’t like being ahead of these other townships on something like this,” Korns said.

The draft ordinance is available for review only at the township office, 136 Community Building Road, but on Thursday, officials uploaded a 14-page slideshow on the structure and purpose of the fee to alleghenytownship.net.

Ahead of the vote to table the proposal, Supervisor Jeff Pollick said he wants more residents to have a chance to view that online document before a decision is made.