Union County, Pa. Update

"Welcome to Union County, PA, a participating Green Community Contact:
Mr. Shawn McLaughlin, Director
Union County Planning Commission
1610 Industrial Boulevard, Suite 100
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837
Tel: (570) 522-1370

Union County Update

Every two years, participating Green Communities are asked to update their profiles so that others can benefit from their successes. Here are some activities that illustrate the County's commitment to creating livable, Green Communities for its residents.

West Branch of the Susquehanna River Conservation and Greenway Plan

Union County is participating in a cooperative four county effort sponsored by the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to develop a river conservation and greenway plan for a 75 mile corridor of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The goals of the plan are as follows:

To establish plans, policies, and recommendations for the West Branch Corridor which will provide for the protection and preservation of valuable natural resources in the corridor, including wildlife habitat, water quality and supply, agricultural lands, wetlands, steep slopes, open space, riparian buffers, and floodplains;
To provide opportunities for sustainable economic development for the population centers located within the corridor which balances environmental protection and economic growth;
To identify opportunities for public recreation, public access points, linkages, environmental education, and nature tourism;
To promote regional cooperation in the corridor, which will manage future growth and development activities and provide for linear connections; and
To identify opportunities for open space and floodplain preservation within the corridor.

Stormwater Management Planning

The county completed a comprehensive stormwater management plan for the Buffalo Creek Watershed in the spring of 1999. This planning process resulted in the development of ordinance language for local municipalities to adopt in order to control the quantity and quality of runoff attributed to new development in the watershed. The goal is prevent flooding and non-point source pollution from negatively impacting the watershed communities and the riparian ecosystem.

Furthermore the county has initiated the development of stormwater management plans within three other drainage basins. One plan will be an update to the original Bull Run Watershed Plan that was prepared in 1993 while the other two projects are new and will address water quantity and quality concerns in the White Deer Creek Watershed and those areas defined as being localized drainage to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (many of the smaller tributary streams). The new plans look to address water quality issues, promote groundwater recharge, prevent stream bank erosion, and manage overbank flooding events.

Project Impact Designation

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has named Union County a Project Impact Community for the year 2001. The county has determined a need to develop partnerships between public, private, and non-profit organizations in order to make local communities disaster resistant. A primary component of this initiative will be to educate people about the hazards associated with floods and living in environmentally sensitive areas such as floodplains. It is likely that a mitigation plan will be developed identifying critical properties for acquisition and conversion to open space uses in order to reduce future threats to life and property while restoring natural areas in and along waterways.

Great Streams Commons

The County continues to make progress in developing a multi-use business park located in Gregg Township. The site is over 650 acres in size and will offer a mix of residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, and park and open space uses. The residential component is designed to be a traditional neighborhood development (TND) which will enable 50 per cent of the site to remain in open space.