BEACH LAKE, PA — At its December 20 meeting, the Berlin Township Board of Supervisors adopted the proposed 2017 annual township budget, fielded questions about safety protocols for a Stourbridge Energy, LLC gas-fired electricity generating plant currently in the planning stage, and mulled over the prospect of large-scale commercial solar farms within the Delaware River corridor.

Without discussion, supervisors unanimously adopted the 2017 township budget as proposed and exhibited for public review. There was no increase from last year’s budget and tax rates remain unchanged.

Resident Jackie DeSau questioned supervisors about township safety protocols in the event of a leak from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline or at the generating plant to be constructed off Skycrest and Adams Pond Roads. Referencing a Sunoco pipeline leak in Lycoming County two months ago that spewed 55,000 gallons of gasoline into Loyalsock Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, DeSau asked, “Will you make sure the safety of township residents comes first? Will our land, water and air be protected in the event of a gas leak?”

Three supervisor heads nodded in unison before Supervisor Cathy Hunt spoke for all of them. “Plant construction and operation will be under the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP). IMG Midstream (IMG), parent company of Stourbridge Energy LLC, has already had initial meetings with DEP officials, and the 18-month permitting process is expected to begin soon. Construction will take at least an additional year.”

When IMG engineer and senior manager Matt Tripoli spoke at the November 15 supervisors’ meeting, he said that, once open, plant infrastructure and operations will be monitored by IMG technicians who will have the capacity to shut the plant down from a remote location in the event of a leak, vandalism and other natural or manmade disasters.

The board turned its attention to the unfinished business of writing a position paper for the Upper Delaware Council regarding solar production for commercial use within the river corridor. Due by December 30, the paper will express the township’s opinion on solar installations of 10-plus acres placed so as to be invisible from both river valley and roads.

Resident Jim Barth observed that there is little Berlin Township land within the river corridor, speculating that most of it probably belongs to the Beach Lake Hunting Club.

Berlin’s lack of zoning ordinances would makes it an opportune site for commercial solar energy production. And supervisors seemed inclined to entertain the possibility of large-scale solar farms out of public view. However, a spectator informed the board that municipalities across the river in New York State are now fine-tuning zoning ordinances to anticipate every solar farm eventuality, including abandonment and bankruptcy of sponsoring energy companies.