It will cost the municipalities of the Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee $6.2 million over five years to comply with state stormwater requirements for the urbanized areas in Blair County, according to estimates recently compiled by the ISC’s Technical Subcommittee.

The money would go for construction of about 40 “best management practices” outlined in the committee’s Pollution Reduction Plan, including the dredging of a reservoir, stream restoration projects, bio-retention ponds, bio-swales, detention pond retrofits and stormwater wetlands.

The plan calls for reducing the amount of sediment delivered to — or scoured from — area streams by 1.4 million pounds per year, in keeping with requirements set by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Each of the committee’s 11 municipalities (including the county) will be responsible for shares of the total cost, based on a formula that takes into account population, miles of impaired streams and impervious area.

The five-year shares include: Altoona, $2.3 million; Logan Township, $1.1 million; Allegheny Town­ship, $816,000; Hollidays­burg, $492,000; Frankstown Township, $398,000; Blair Township, $367,000; Antis Township, $326,000; Free­dom Township, $160,000; Duncansville, $122,000; Bellwood, $102,000; and Blair County, $35,000.

At a recent meeting, the committee began linking potential grants with projects, based on a list of eight projects that are high-priority and an alternate list of 12 — with costs for each project and the amount of sediment each would keep out of local streams.

By far the most cost-effective project listed is the dredging of the pond at Lakemont Park, so that the lake could once again provide a settling basin for the upstream stretch of Brush Run.

It would cost $1.7 million, but would lead to the reduction of 544,000 pounds of sediment per year downstream — for a cost of $3.30 per pound.

Every one of the other 19 projects on the two lists would cost $5.60 per pound — $2.20 more than the Lakemont project.

“It’s the best option,” said engineer Tom Levine, a committee member. “It should be attacked with everything we have.”

But the Lakemont project currently doesn’t fit with available grants, given its high match costs, officials indicated.

“(That’s) the kicker,” Levine said. “The best project is just now beyond our reach.”

Other considerations in linking grant opportunities with projects include application deadlines, property ownership — ownership by a public agency can keep complications to a minimum — and qualifying areas.

Ultimately, the committee agreed that the Blair County Conservation District, which staffs the committee, should apply on the committee’s behalf for a Sunoco Mariner East 2 Pipeline Corridor grant to help pay for a $282,000 stream restoration project along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River in Blair Township — one of the qualifying areas for that grant. The project would reduce sediment by 50,000 pounds per year.

The committee also agreed to seek funding for a $150,000 stream restoration along Spring Run near the Juniata Ballfield, on ground owned by the Juniata Civic Association. That would reduce sediment by 26,000 pounds per year.

In addition to the Sunoco grant, the district will also apply for a Growing Greener grant of $266,000. It requires a 15 percent match, which would amount to $40,000.

There’s enough in the committee’s reserves to handle that match, said Donna Fisher, district manager.

The committee also showed interest in applying for a National Fish and Wildlife Federation grant for $500,000, with a required 50-50 match, as presented by district ombudsman Beth Futrick.

The committee could get a start on complying with that match — and maybe pique the interest of NFWF to provide the grant, ultimately — by beginning some preparatory work on the Lakemont project, Levine suggested.

The committee also began planning a campaign to help secure stormwater compliance for the future in Blair County, given that the committee will expire at the end of the year unless the municipal governing bodies individually renew their commitment to the ISC by the beginning of December.

The municipalities could drop out of the committee and attempt to comply with their individual stormwater permit requirements alone — but that could be more expensive and would require them to begin engineering work to determine what those requirements might be, according to Fisher.

As it is now, the required reduction is tracked and credited collectively, so that all of the municipalities get credit for any reduction, no matter where among the 11 municipalities it occurs.

The Technical Sub­committee will work with committee coordinator Chelsey Ergler on a Powerpoint presentation she can make before all of the municipal elected bodies — a strategy suggested by Levine.

An alternative to restarting the committee — which is a council of governments — is to create an authority, which would have the power to charge municipal management fees to fund projects — and to borrow for the same purpose.

York County is working toward creation of a countywide stormwater authority, according to Felicia Dell, York County planning director and a leader of the York County Coalition, which is heading the York County effort.

York County’s cost for complying with DEP stormwater requirements is $15 million, Dell told the ISC.

The range of costs per year for municipalities that require permits is $2,000 to $500,000, she said.

The coalition is working through various issues, including how to assess stormwater fees.

Other stormwater authorities in the state charge an average of $60 per parcel annually, she indicated.

There are 184,000 parcels in York County, she said.

A York County stormwater authority would likely vary the cost per parcel based on residential categories — for example, quarter-acre lots assessed one amount, half-acre lots another, she indicated.

Commercial and industrial lots would be charged based on finer distinctions, she indicated.

Currently, the York County Coalition has a steering committee and four work groups, focused respectively on business, legal and technical matters and on communication.

The coalition plans to place a proposal for an authority before the York County commissioners early next year, she said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.