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Herald, October 29, 2009 "Plumstead encourages voters to support referendum:
$4.5 million bond issue would be used for multi-use park" by Rebecca Fink
Letter to the Editor of the Intelligencer, "Drinking water trumps natural gas," May 31, 2009: ". . . A new law may be introduced in Congress
to overturn the hydraulic fracturing exemption and Nockamixon's resolution has been submitted to Rep. Patrick Murphy as support
for that action. It is crucial that people tell our elected officials to restore effective environmental regulation of natural
gas. The future of our water resources and the quality of the Delaware River and its
tributaries depend on it. Go to www.delawareriverkeeper.org to take action."
Intelligencer, April 8, 2009 "Police called to calm meeting" by Freda R. Savana. A video of the meeting is posted here and at http://www.PlumsteadWatch.org. Plumstead Township engineer Tim Fulmer begins the Board of Supervisors' hearing on a land development
waiver for the construction of a surge tank by Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, represented by attorney John Koopman
(out of the frame) and John Swenson and Greg Hucklebridge of Carroll Engineering. Public comments are omitted to avoid publicizing
individual property owners' problems with their sanitary systems.
Intelligencer, April 6, 2009 "Water monitoring will continue: Contamination in Cross Keys has
affected numerous homes and businesses" by Freda R. SavanaIntelligencer,
April 2, 2009 "A sobering look at gas drilling" by Amanda CreganIntelligencer,
February 26, 2009 "Experts discuss state environmental
issues" by George Mattar Intelligencer, February 10, 2009 "Objections aside, board OKs drilling" by Amanda CreganIntelligencer, January 20, 2009 "Water becoming hot commodity
for communities" by Hilary Bentman
Intelligencer/Courier Times, January 4, 2009 "Report: Water crisis looming for Upper Bucks" by Amanda Cregan
"Groundwater Level Monitoring of the Aquifer in the Neighborhood of Palisades Schools, Nockamixon," Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee, December 29, 2008
August 19, 2008, 7:30 PM, Plumstead Township Building: David Fennimore of Earth Data Northeast, Inc., presents results
of the groundwater study they have conducted for the township.
Intelligencer, July 26,
2008 "Call made for more water tests" by Jenna
Portnoy
SaSave Plumstead deeply regrets the passing of our former attorney, Bob
Sugarman, who died yesterday after a long illness. It would be difficult to overstate his contribution to the
protection of our environment. "Bucks County's 'protector' dies at 70," Intelligencer, June 28, 2008.
Intelligencer, June 19, 2008 "Backup well, storage tank urged" by Freda Savana
June 16, 2008, 7:30 PM, Plumstead Township Building: The Board of Supervisors meets with "the township's
hydrologist and the contractor who monitors the needs of the four township-owned water systems...to plan for future needs of the aging systems.... A township-wide water study is
also underway. A preliminary report on that is expected later in the summer." (Full story, Intelligencer, June 14.) Entire video at PlumsteadWatch.org.
May 6, 2008, 7:30 PM, Plumstead Township Building: Earth Data gives an update
on the water study to the Board of Supervisors.
May 1, 2008, 7:30 PM, Plumstead Township Building: The Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and EAC co-hold a special meeting to discuss a draft amendment to the stormwater provisions of the Township Code of Ordinances.
This is in keeping with the final settlement agreement's provision that "the Township will update its existing Stormwater
Management Ordinance to insure increased stormwater recharge within the Township."
Intelligencer, February 6, 2008 "Township
ponders grant for water data" by Nicole Foulke
February 5, 2008, 7:30 PM, Plumstead Township Building, Eco-Bucks
presentation on well monitoring to Board of Supervisors. Bob Stanfield's preview: "The Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee (BNT GWMC, a tri-municipal advisory committee) has for the last 5 years been monitoring groundwater levels around the townships. Doing so, we have learned
a great deal about this limited resource we depend on so critically, yet know so little about. We have discovered how fragile
our geology for providing water is and have crafted ordinances to recognize its limitations. We attracted the attention of
the Wallace Foundation, which offered us $5,000 each for Bedminster and Plumstead to develop a similar program. We require
that this program be approved by the townships. In Plumstead your Environmental Advisory Council is sponsoring this and will
be looking for suggestions for critical sites where monitoring would be effective. The presentation will be a quick overview
of what we have learned in the BNT GWMC." Click here for handout provided.
Intelligencer, January 25, 2008 "Judge OKs lawsuit settlement: The deal expands the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority's footprint in Plumstead"
by Riley Yates
NOTE: Save Plumstead has prepared a detailed report to our membership and email subscribers. Click here to be added to our email list.
COURT HEARING ON OUR PETITION TO INTERVENE, January 24, 2008, 10 AM, Courtroom 6, Bucks County Courthouse:
All depositions are complete. We received an order for a hearing on Thursday, Jan. 24, on the outstanding petitions,
including Plumstead Township and Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority's petition to approve their stipulation (settlement
agreement). It is our hope that the judge will hear Save Plumstead's petition to intervene before addressing their
petition to approve the stipulation (settlement agreement). The public is welcome to observe the hearing.
January 21, 2008, 7:30 PM,
Plumstead Township Building Plumstead Open Lands Commission and Plumstead Historical Society invited
the public to an information evening on the benefits of living in a nationally recognized Historic District. Kathryn Auerbach,
Professor of Historic Preservation at Bucks County Community College, talked about the process and possibilities of putting
Plumstead's Smith's Corner and surrounding landscape on the National Register of Historic Places. The protection and tax benefits,
increased real estate values, and grant opportunities were explained.
August 9, 2007 Save Plumstead
petitions the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas to be allowed to join Tom Alvaré's Petition to Intervene in the litigation between Plumstead Township and the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority. Our aim is to ensure that any outcome of
the litigation protects Plumstead Township's water resources. What we are asking>>
How you can help: JOIN US AS A MEMBER. All we need are your name and address. The more members we have, the stronger our standing in court. Sign
up for email alerts.
August 6, 2007 SavePlumsteadWater.org
incorporates as Save Plumstead, a PA nonprofit; prepares to file for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
July 17-18, 2007 Board of Supervisors' meeting, 7:30 PM, Township Building. Our petitions were delivered
to the Supervisors during the public comment period at the start of the meeting.
Tom Alvare then announced that he had filed a Petition to Intervene in the proposed settlement. Most of the evening and early hours of the morning were spent discussing Housley
Carr and Betsy Helsel's suggested improvements to the draft agreement. Some, though not all, were incorporated. At about 2:10
AM the Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the settlement offer,
without waiting for the conclusion of the water study, thereby ignoring their Environmental Advisory Council's recommendations. As Housley Carr put it, "This agreement is an opening of the door to mass development." It would allocate to BCWSA 1,125
new EDUs, of which 125 would remain negotiable, depending on the results of the water study. This is the first allowed link
between the water study and the agreement.* Intelligencer, July 18. *Note: Inexplicably, the reference to the water study did not appear in the settlement agreement that was signed on August 22, 2007, though it was approved, voted on, and recorded in the minutes of the July 17 meeting.
June 28 & July 1, 2007 Letter to the Editor of the Bucks County Herald and Intelligencer
June 27, 2007 The first meeting of SavePlumsteadWater.org garnered a dozen attendees in the Plumstead Township Building. We decided to launch a petition drive, calling on the Plumstead Township Supervisors to "follow their Environmental Advisory Council's recommendations: wait for the conclusion of the water study and take its findings into account prior to any settlement with the Bucks County
Water & Sewer Authority." We are also asking residents of
the township whose wells have been impacted by development to share accounts of their experiences, to be published on our
website. They may be submitted to contact@SavePlumsteadWater.org.
June 19, 2007 The Board of Supervisors grants permission for SavePlumsteadWater.org to meet
in the township building. Text of request>>
June 5, 2007 The Plumstead Supervisors finalized the language of the summary of the proposed settlement agreement. Supervisors Froio, Mulholland, and Formica voted to ask for the Environmental Advisory Council's comments
on the proposed settlement agreement in July, before the water study is completed, over the objections of Supervisors Helsel
and Carr as well as the EAC. The majority of the Supervisors continue to reject the notion that the results of the
water study should inform the EAC's recommendations or affect the terms of the Board's proposed settlement of the lawsuit
by BCWSA.
May 24, 2007: In Work Session, Supervisors
agree on language of Request for Proposals for water study, to be finalized at their next meeting on
June 5.
As reported in the Intelligencer on April 18, 2007, there is disagreement among Plumstead's
Supervisors over a proposed settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority,
which would extend the sewer system in the township beyond the area currently served by the Authority. Full news story>>
The
April 17, 2007, Supervisors' meeting featured a presentation by ECO-Bucks.org that highlighted the fragility of the
area's groundwater resources and the need for monitoring, study, and conservation. Plumstead's Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) then submitted recommendations that include updating the water budget and doing an Environmental Impact Study prior
to any agreement with the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority. Full text>>
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SavePlumsteadWater.org
Plumstead Township, PA |
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