In the coming weeks, the Ross Township supervisors, engineer, solicitor and other leaders will compare their current stormwater ordinance to what is being proposed in a statewide update.

David Hooker, a resource conservation specialist with Monroe County Conservation District, spoke about Act 167 during Monday’s supervisors meeting.

Act 167 refers to the Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Act of 1978, which was updated in 2006. Each county must prepare and adopt a watershed stormwater management plan for each watershed in the county.

A small portion of the McMichael Creek watershed is in Ross Township. The creek converges with Brodhead Creek in Stroudsburg. Modeling and data from the Brodhead and Tobyhanna watersheds were used for this update, he said.

Hooker told supervisors that they may need to update their stormwater ordinance so that it meets the Act 167 standards.

He said there are not many changes in this version, so it’s “more of a plan renewal than an update.”

It includes language about exemption for high tunnels and updated rainwater values according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, he said.

“In 2021, the township spent a lot of time and money to update our stormwater ordinance. We worked off the same model,” said Tim McManus, township solicitor.

McManus said he and other township officials would look over documents Hooker gave them and see what amendments, if any, need to be made to the township’s ordinance.

Hooker said May 2 is the deadline to comply with Act 167.

In other business:

• Vice chairman David Shay asked for a moment of silence for Russell “Butch” Kresge Jr., who served as a Ross township supervisor for 24 years. He died on Jan. 28.

• The township is seeking a full-time receptionist to work 37½ hours Monday through Friday for $15 per hour. For more information, contact the township office at 570-992-4990.