West Pittston seeking levee funding from Luzerne County’s American Rescue allocation

West Pittston will be seeking a portion of Luzerne County’s American Rescue Plan funding to help pay for a levee the borough wants to construct along the Susquehanna River, officials said.

County Councilman Brian Thornton, who resides in the borough, said he has been speaking with borough Council President Ellen Quinn and project engineering consultant Jim Brozena about the proposed levee, arguing it is “sorely needed.”

The record 2011 Susquehanna flood caused $98 million in damage to 880 borough residences, 26 businesses, four churches and four other public buildings, records show.

“One more serious flood like that, and I think West Pittston will cease to exist,” Thornton said.

The county is set to receive $112.89 million in American Rescue funding and has a remaining $97.5 million not yet earmarked.

Entities interested in an county allocation have until April 29 to submit preliminary applications. The county administration is soliciting funding requests so council can assess community needs and weigh all options.

West Pittston must come up with an estimated $50 million to fund a levee.

The borough is on its own because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declined to initiate a levee under its umbrella. The federal agency determined in 2017 a levee around West Pittston did not meet the benefit-to-cost ratio warranting the investment, officials have said. The process to secure and complete a levee through the U.S. Army Corps also could take decades.

Using a past $225,000 county community development allocation, the borough hired Wilkes-Barre-based Borton-Lawson to study all options, with help from sub-contractor Reilly Associates in Pittston and guidance from Brozena.

Unveiled in October 2019, the resulting report recommended the borough follow the example of Bloomsburg in Columbia County, which responded to a similar Army Corps rejection by rounding up private and public funding to build a levee there.

The proposed 1.6-mile levee in West Pittston would include stretches of both earth and concrete-capped sheet pile and range from 2 to 15 feet in height, the report said.

About 60 vacant parcels would have to be acquired on the river side of Susquehanna Avenue to make way for the levee, it said.

The new levee would meet Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program to ensure property owners receive reduced flood insurance rates from levee protection, officials have said.

Thornton said he suggested the borough submit a pre-application trying to secure a “small amount of the overall project” that could serve as a local match to apply for other state and federal funding.

“The hardest part of funding a project is almost always the local share. That could propel the project forward,” Thornton said, adding he would pen a letter of support and encourage his council colleagues to rally behind the initiative.

Quinn confirmed West Pittston will be seeking county funding but said the dollar amount it requests must be discussed and decided by borough council as a whole. The borough has been actively pursuing levee funding from multiple sources, she said.

“We need this flood protection for the town to survive,” Quinn said.

The borough lost 28 home that were torn down due to flood buyouts, mostly along Susquehanna Avenue, she has said. These now-vacant parcels must be owned and maintained by the borough, and all three taxing bodies lose revenue that would have been generated.

Thornton said the borough “already lost a good amount of tax base” due to flooding.

“If it happens again, I think economics would render West Pittston as obsolete,” he said.

He also spoke against “dirty rumors” that the borough missed out on a levee in the past because some residents did not want to ruin their river view.

Thornton said a U.S. Army Corps representative was asked about the river view claim during presentations in the aftermath of the 2011 flood and indicated there was no truth to that assertion.

Instead, Thornton said the federal government rejected a levee for West Pittston due to the same benefit/cost analysis being cited today.

“That’s why they did not do the levee. It had nothing to do with people not wanting a levee. That myth was dispelled,” Thornton said.

Quinn concurred, saying Thorton’s description is “the true story.”

Pre-applications for the county funding are posted on the main page at luzernecounty.org.

There is no guarantee pre-applicants will be asked to submit a subsequent formal application for funding, the county said.

The county is seeking applications from nonprofits, municipalities, municipal authorities and other entities.

To date, council has approved $15.424 million in American Rescue earmarks: $500,000 to the blight-fighting North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority covering multiple Pittston area municipalities; up to $8 million to the county Flood Protection Authority, which oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee along the Susquehanna; $924,000 for county public transportation matches; $4 million for county prison repairs and information technology needs; and $2 million to help pay for the construction of the rain garden and stream bank restoration, which will create a $2 million credit so county government does not have to pay a stormwater fee until the credit runs out.

The county does not have to commit to an American Rescue allocation plan until the end of 2024 and has until the end of 2026 to spend the money.