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Charlestown Township
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Minutes were recorded for the meeting on October 10th, 2018 at the Great Valley High School Library, 225 N. Phoenixville Pike, Malvern, PA 19355. Meeting was held from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Attendees were Pete Goodman, Carol Armstrong, Richard Findlay, Veda Maany, Daniel Walker, and Greg Nesspor.
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm with Pete Goodman as the Chair.
Minutes from previous meeting will be circulated electronically and agreed upon via email.
Pete Goodman opened the meeting with updates regarding the Adelphia Gateway Project pipeline. He reported that on October 2nd an email from FERC was released and there was no reference to the Pickering blowdown in two of their charts. In a separate email, the two references to Pickering blowdown were also removed. Are we to assume that the blowdowns are not going to be installed in Charlestown township? The new locations are not within our township, south of us. However, that leaves a long segment of the pipe without a pressure valve. Pete has sent a new letter to FERC to clarify their comments. Due to these latest developments, we will change what we will submit for the quarterly newsletter to include more of an update and contact information to encourage residents to express their concerns. In terms of time constraints, we do know that construction is limited to winter months (November to April) to minimize habitat destruction of the red belly turtle habitat. Pete has offered to write an update for inclusion in the newsletter and we still have our notice on the website.
Next month Walker and Armstrong will approach Office Bar & Grill to discuss education on single use plastics.
Goodman & Walker provided an update on turnpike sound walls proposal. A small committee (consisting of Goodman, Walker, Mr. Stevens, and Mrs. Gallagher) met with Mr. Moskowitz from the Great Valley Association, where they formed an agenda that includes consulting lawyers, setting up a website, and setting up a nonprofit as a means to collect funds. Also, Walker has consulted planning commission/township zoning officer Dan Wright regarding a township sound ordinance about noise limitations. The plans for turnpike expansion are under review by the PA DEP and the Chester County Conservation District at this point- they have not been approved. We will be requesting sound walls for all of Charlestown township- maybe even consider neighboring townships. Pete has emailed Milne and Dinniman about meeting to discuss the sound walls as well. We aim to formalize a report to make a formal presentation to the board of supervisors by December.
Goodman and Armstrong have offered to meet with Vicki Laubach and GVWA to begin planning and grant preparation of riparian buffer along tributary of Pigeon Run on Brightside Farm to improve stream health. Also, Goodman and Armstrong will also attend the November BoS meeting to present this project to the board for their approval.
We brainstormed on potential topics for our Resident Environmental Education Series. Armstrong distributed a list of topics other EACs have used. One interesting topic we should explore is salt use during winter months. Nesspor suggested the topic around animal management and manure pollution into the headwaters of the Pickering watershed. Maany will post a poll on nextdoor.com to see what topics interest most people. We will reach out to Linda to get ideas on where we should hold meetings.
Findlay reported on the response from PennDOT and information on the herbicides used and the locations within the township. They use the following selective herbicides:
- Alligare 2-4 D or DMA-4
- Garlon 3A
- Escort XP
- Brewer 90 (surfactant)
The concern is over whether there is collateral impact on wanted plants and shrubbery when spraying these chemicals. Are there alternatives that PennDOT is willing to use?
Carol will start a Google drive and will upload our various files on it. The volunteer contact list will not be placed on the Google drive due to privacy concerns and will be kept off line with a single individual.
Regarding EAC articles for the township quarterly newsletter. Findlay will write article on septic maintenance and requirements for next edition. As mentioned above, Goodman will put together an update about the Adelphia pipeline.
We confirmed the following as our EAC-initiated project for next 6+ months.
- Brightside Farm Riparian Buffer Planting,
- Stream Naming (un-named tributaries),
- Adelphia Gateway Project monitoring,
- PA Turnpike Sound Wall Group
Other Updates.
Armstrong attended the recycling meeting. She informed us that Chester county trash goes to two landfills— one is Lanchester Landfill in Narvon, PA and the other is Eldredge, Inc. Hazardous Waste in West Chester, PA. At the meeting they discussed the problem of significant contamination of recyclables with non-recycling materials. We could educate Charlestown residents more about this and use West Goshen’s 20 min recycling education program for school students. Also, recycling costs have increased and hauling prices are going up. These increases should be reflected in residents’ bills, and if not, then the company may not be recycling at all. One can go to Chester county solid waste authority website for guidance on recycling, i.e. where to recycle different items, list of non-recyclables (milk juice broth and beverage cartons are now recyclable!), household hazardous waste events. One can also acquire a Pennsylvania Recycling Professional Certification, and scholarships are available.
Goodman submitted a proposal for our budget to the BoS.
Goodman also attended the Chester county Municipal storm water summit. They discussed issues about salt use and increased run off due to rains.
We will be hosting an EAC table at the Charlestown precinct on election day as suggested by Michael Churchill. We will have pamphlets covering salt use in winter months, recycling information, etc. Walker plans to be there in the morning. Goodman will cover lunch hours, Armstrong and Maany will cover evening hours.
Meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.