LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — More than $800,000 in federal grant money has been awarded to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority.
Officials say the money will help fix infrastructure in the stormwater systems throughout Luzerne County.
That includes retrofitting several catch basins that collect run-off and filter water before it enters streams and creeks.
At a news conference Thursday, we asked U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, (D) 8th District, what this all means for the people who are paying a so-called rain tax said to fund similar projects.
"There's no such thing as a rain tax, what it is a stormwater fee. And that is something that we are absolutely trying to do is to alleviate that exact burden. It's going to take more years of work, but we've got some. We have some irons in the fire on that score, so watch this space," said Cartwright.
The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority says the stormwater fee brings in around $ 9 million a year.