Continuing a partnership it first made on Oct. 7, 2020, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors approved a restated, 20-year agreement with the Revolving Water Fund (RWF) to continue improving water quality and reducing pollutants at water sources in the Brandywine-Christiana Watershed. 

RWF will continue to identify and implement strong conservation practices, develop a risk-reduction agenda that will facilitate the projects, and provide regulatory compliance support for the township. Ted Otteni, the township’s public works director, said that the work area will be confined to the Red Clay and Brandywine Creek watersheds to remove pollutants that include total suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorous. 

Developed in collaboration between i2 Capital and The Nature Conservancy and headquartered in Washington, D.C., RWF aligns the interests of agricultural producers, scientists, conservationists, corporations, municipalities, state and federal agencies and impact investors to address conservation on a watershed scale. Through its conservation finance program, RWF implements natural infrastructure on agricultural lands to reduce pollutants in the waterways while supporting compliance objectives. 

The RWF model correlates agricultural conservation practices with regulatory compliance and other private and public objectives to capture the economic benefits of conservation.

By establishing a contract with RWF, the township will continue to meet the regulatory mandates of the federal government, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) that establish sediment reduction requirements and waste load allocations for state municipalities.

The investment with RWF will cost the township a total of $79,015 -- $67,765.15 for the first five years of operation and maintenance costs, and three subsequent payments of $3,750 every five years to cover additional operation and maintenance costs. 

“[In 2020], we agreed to work with RWF through the DEP process using this unique and innovative program that allowed them to use the credits from RWF projects to benefit the township and to allow us to get the credits we needed,” said interim township manager Amy Heinrich. “During that time, they worked with DEP very closely and at the same time, we also learned more about what our needs would be.

“Our needs have shifted from one area to another and therefore we have had to change the project. We’re signing a different contract, but the partnerships will remain intact.”

In an action related to the approval of the township’s restated agreement with RWF, the board adopted a Total Maximum Daily Load Plan (TMDL) for the township that establishes best management practices for the required reduction in pollutant loadings in the Red Clay and Brandywine Creek watersheds, as mandated by the PADEP.

In other township business, the board voted to abolish the township’s Land Conservation Advisory Committee and that future land negotiations and conservation services will be conducted by the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance. In addition, the board voted to re-establish the township’s Environmental Advisory Committee, Historical Commission and Trails and Sidewalks Committee and appoint members to each group.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].