Bethlehem spouting off?

Billy these are really two separate issues. The pumps are to supposedly keep the lehigh from overflowing.

This directive from the city is to keep the Freemansburg sewage treatment plant at manageable levels.

And actually this directive, if followed, will probably end up saving a few basements too, even basements far from the Lehigh's flood zone.

We have an old house with these drains that go directly into the ground and we diverted them to the lawn back when we first moved in. All but one that we accidentally missed. After a big storm we found water in our basement, here the drain that we failed to divert the down spout from was clogged and overflew and all the water came into the basement.

It is really unwise to use those old drains because they will all eventually clog, if they haven't already.

Typical Billy.

all these years. and now?!?!?!?!
and MAYBE the township too??!?!?!!?!

how about knowing FOR SURE........ first!!!!!!

let the casino money pay for it. that appears to be the catch all for any problem in the city, right johnny?!

uh oh. Billy's post was pulled. All heck is going to break loose on topix today!

Let's face it! What Bethlehem needs is an updated sewerage treatment plant. It cannot handle all the growth in the city and townships. What's going to happen when everyone a tthe casino project starts flushing the toilet? No forward thinking in Bethlehem government!!!!!

The residents of the Marvine and Lynfield Housing projects regularly cause sewage backup in their areas. They do so since it is common practice for them to dump large amounts of cooking grease and other items into toilets. Having seen first hand the sewage bubbling up in the streets I'm sure a large part of the larger problem is their stupidity. I say cut them off and make the BHA put in septic systems which the residents would be responsible for. Or better yet, raze both housing developments and sell the land off. But we cant do that since it is politically incorrect and we would rather pay for their stupidity.

BHA wrote:

The residents of the Marvine and Lynfield Housing projects regularly cause sewage backup in their areas. They do so since it is common practice for them to dump large amounts of cooking grease and other items into toilets. Having seen first hand the sewage bubbling up in the streets I'm sure a large part of the larger problem is their stupidity. I say cut them off and make the BHA put in septic systems which the residents would be responsible for. Or better yet, raze both housing developments and sell the land off. But we cant do that since it is politically incorrect and we would rather pay for their stupidity.

Not the same problem.

Blue wrote:

Let's face it! What Bethlehem needs is an updated sewerage treatment plant. It cannot handle all the growth in the city and townships. What's going to happen when everyone a tthe casino project starts flushing the toilet? No forward thinking in Bethlehem government!!!!!

I don't disagree but the fact is no one should have their downspouts directly linked to the sewer, no matter how much capacity the sewage treatment plant has or doesn't have.

First of all those pipes clog and the homeowner will eventually end up with a flooded basement. Second, the water should just run off into the lawn and be absorbed. No reason to automatically route it to the sewer for treatment. Anything that the lawn can't handle can then flow to the sewer.

Michele, as regular readers of this forum knows, is one of Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan's, Councilmember Karen Dolan's, Chief Planner Darlene Heller's, Public Works Director Michael Alkhal's and, South Side Task Force and Northampton County Casino Commission Chair Robert Pfeffer's biggest boosters, respectively, of unbridled development in general and of Bethlehem City development in particular.

I would be remiss if I did not mention also Bethlehem Planning Commission Chair Andrew Twiggar, would-be eveloper of Allentown's Waterfront development, and Planning Commission VP Larry Krauter, assistant to Lehigh Valley International Airport Authority (LVIAA) Excutive Director George Doughty.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must demand that Bethlehem repair the 15 now inoperable sump pumps that mitigate the South Side Bethlehem neighborhood's - and Freemansburg's and Bethlehem Townships storm-water funoff problems, present and future.

Michele of Bethlehem is correct: The Morning Call is again intercepting ny commments and aborting them to prevent their appearing on this forum.

The Bethlehem City;Bethlehem Township storm-water runoff problem also involves Palmer Township and Palmer Towne Center shopping center on S. 25th Street between Wilson Borough's Butler Street-William Penn Highway intersection and Freemansburg Road, also in Palmer Township.

Billy Givens wrote:

Michele of Bethlehem is correct: The Morning Call is again intercepting ny commments and aborting them to prevent their appearing on this forum.
The Bethlehem City;Bethlehem Township storm-water runoff problem also involves Palmer Township and Palmer Towne Center shopping center on S. 25th Street between Wilson Borough's Butler Street-William Penn Highway intersection and Freemansburg Road, also in Palmer Township.

I must say , you have stamina.

Billy Givens wrote:

Michele, as regular readers of this forum knows, is one of Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan's, Councilmember Karen Dolan's, Chief Planner Darlene Heller's, Public Works Director Michael Alkhal's and, South Side Task Force and Northampton County Casino Commission Chair Robert Pfeffer's biggest boosters, respectively, of unbridled development in general and of Bethlehem City development in particular.
I would be remiss if I did not mention also Bethlehem Planning Commission Chair Andrew Twiggar, would-be eveloper of Allentown's Waterfront development, and Planning Commission VP Larry Krauter, assistant to Lehigh Valley International Airport Authority (LVIAA) Excutive Director George Doughty.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must demand that Bethlehem repair the 15 now inoperable sump pumps that mitigate the South Side Bethlehem neighborhood's - and Freemansburg's and Bethlehem Townships storm-water funoff problems, present and future.

I'll agree with you on Callahan, Dolan and the southside task force. The other's I haven't supported by name.

As far as unbridled development you again have me wrong. I support development within the city in a way that is architecturally, environmentally and historically sound. The casino meets all of those requirements in my opinion. Letting the steel rot away in its current condition is doing nothing for the city any of those regards.

Back to the downspout notices....I support this because it is good for the city and its residents, whether they realize it or not.

Pennsylvania's 67 counties, and not their townships, boroughs, and cities, are responsible for updating the flood-plain maps of FEMA, the insurance companies that write protection against property damage in flood plains, the National Geodetic Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - and this has been the case for years now.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is a fraud. Horthampton County and its municipalities would have taxpyers believe that the LVPC's powers are advisory only, and that it has no real power.

In fact, the LVIP hqs real power. In fact, it - and it only - has the power to file with the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas to file with the court a mylar record of every real estate subdivision in the county.

Finally, bethlhem Planning Commission President presides over the LVIP in a blatant conflict-of-interest, as does Glenn Taggart of Donna Taggart Associates.

this is so upsetting. i`m gonna` puke! year and a half ago, "sewerage treatment plant, at it`s max", quoted in the call. can`t accomodate st.luke`s in the township. ok, all of a sudden, we can handle it. what happened?$$$$$$$, ok, now, after some homes are hooked into the sewar, this is the problem. unreal! today`s call, we can hold 45 million, average day, 12 mil. so, 33 mil comes from rain gutters? NO!!! we CANNOT handle st.luke`s, so the city is trying to find some way to cut back on the city`s resident`s, so st. luke`s can use it. it also stated, we need an upgrade. what a smoke screen!!! 12 mill goes a day. we can handle 44 mil. we need an up grade???? no, let you and i , the taxpayers pay for a new plant, so st. luke`s can use it! i`m going to throw up now!!!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installed the 15 powerful sump pumps in 1964 - in addition to the levee on the south bank of the Lehigh River - to mitigate the the flooding caused by Hurricane Diane in 1955.

The Corps also installed the pumps and the levee and other safeguards to mitigate the flooding that occurred from storn-water runoff from South Mountain and the Lehigh University Campus.

Though any clogged gutters, downspouts, and drain pipes should be cleared, homeowners and businesses should not be penalized; after all, it was the city of Bethlehem that connected storm-water and deptic sewer systems to begin with.

As for the Corps' 15 sump pumps, these are housed in four shelters in the Lehigh River flood plain. One of these shelters is located directly beneath the Minsi Trail bridge on the very site of the Sands BethWorks casino.

St. Luke's Hospital has cooperated fully with the city of Bethlehem, Northampton County, the Sands BethWorks casino, U.S. Congressman Charles Dent, and the city of Bethlehem - including the donation of taxpayer money - in the construction of Sands BethWorks, located in the flood plain of the Lehigh River and the path of stom-water runoff from South Mountain and the Lehigh University campus.

Billy Givens wrote:

As for the Corps' 15 sump pumps, these are housed in four shelters in the Lehigh River flood plain. One of these shelters is located directly beneath the Minsi Trail bridge on the very site of the Sands BethWorks casino.

The city did that a long time ago. They also built schools with Asbestos because it was a fire retardant. Seemed like a good idea at the time but we live and learn. Just because something was a good idea 50 or more years ago doesn't mean it is still a good idea today.

Charles Dent, the U.S. Congressman who represents Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District, is a ranking member of that body's Homeland Security Committee.

His political party's members held a majority on this crucial and powerful committee until the mid-term elections of 2006, when the following January the Democratic Party re-gained control.

As a majority member of the committee, Dent sponsored legislation opposing "casino shopping" by America's indigenous people, including the Delaware-Lenni Lenape Tribe of the so-called "Lehigh Valley."

Though I have been an outspoken opponent of the Sands bethWorks casino at least as early as January 3, 2005, it was unfair and disrepectful of Dent to target the Native American Tribe in his Congressional district while supporting - including grants subsidized by his constituents - Sands BethWorks now under construction on Bethlehem City's South Side neighborhood in the Lehigh River flood plain and directly in the path of store-water runoff in the Lehigh Valley flood plain.

Congressman Dent committed the same faux pas as the Binney & Smith Crayola Crayon Corporation when among much fanfare from its headquarters in Forks Township it introduced a new crayon color called "Indian Red."

The name drew an indignant response from the Indian tribe and an apology from the crayon maker for its insensitive faux pas. Dent's political gaffe was heightened by the fact thqt the tribe was locked in a legal battle with the crayon maker, Northampton County, et al, over the legal ownership of 315 acres in Forks Township including the property occupied by the company's headquarters.

Michele of Bethlehem

The corrupt Northampton County Court of Common Pleas - note that its Judge William Moran, whom I place in the same category as former Senior judge Isaac Garb - has wisely decided not to seek re-election to the bench.

This court of former President Judge Robert Freedburg, recently sworn in as a justice on Pennsylvania's Superior Court, is still adding judges.

A major rational of the Northampton Court justifying these additional jurists is the overwhelming workload resulting from the large number of asbestos-related litigation in the county.

Just because asbestos was installed in the county's schools 50 years ago does not justify the continuing development in the county's flood plains and on its steep slopes and other environmentally sensitive areas - all at the expense of the county's taxpayers ultimately.

St. Luke's resubmission of its "final" first-phase plans is on the agenda of the Bethlehem Township Planning Commission meeting scheduled for July 28, 2008, at 7 p.m., at a location to be announced.

Please plan to attend this crucial meeting on the subject of a development impacting the Lehigh River and the Delaware and Lehigh National Historic Corridor (D&LNHC) canal flood plain and storm-water runoff flooding created by St. Luke's proposed project.