Four local municipalites received harsh letters from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stating they have 30 days to update their stormwater management plans or they could face penalties.

Letters were sent Tueday to Bowmanstown, Lower Towamensing Township and Weissport, all in Carbon County, and Slatington in Lehigh County.Nine other Lehigh County municipalities were also put on notice: Catasauqua, Whitehall, Macungie, Upper Milford Township, Salisbury Township, South Whitehall Township, Emmaus, Alburtis and Weisenberg Township.In all, the notice was sent to 85 municipalities in north central and northeastern Pennsylvania.Bowmanstown officials have resolved the matter, saying they were issued an exemption from the rules by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.Borough secretary Tara Takerer presented a letter from DEP indicating the exemption.She advised the EPA about the exemption. EPA spokesman Peter Gould said that the mandate on stormwater management was likely sent to Bowmanstown in error; that the letter from DEP was apparently overlooked."We're not in violation," Takerer said.Nobody was available for comment in Weissport, Lower Towamensing Township or Slatington.David Sternberg, press officer for the EPA, said none of the municipalities have been fined.Within 30 days of June 24, the municipalities must provide additional evidence of compliance that isn't included in their respective annual report, according to the order.Also, within 30 days of EPA's request, they must submit a work plan and schedule to achieve compliance with all minimum control measures which are noncompliant in terms of the federal regulations."Penalties have not been assessed nor are they expected at this time; however, the agency may exercise additional enforcement if necessary," Sternberg said.Sternberg said, "EPA issued the orders to augment Pennsylvania's efforts to ensure effective stormwater management programs are in place to improve water quality in local streams and the Chesapeake Bay, which is downstream of most of the towns cited by EPA.""In this age of changing climate and more frequent and severe weather events, managing urban stormwater is essential for protecting and restoring the waterways in our communities," EPA regional administrator Shawn M. Garvin said."Our objective in issuing these orders is to build on the work being done by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and bridge any gaps in making it clear to the municipalities that they need to do a better job of implementing their programs for controlling stormwater runoff."The federal Clean Water Act requires the cited municipalities to develop and implement a program to reduce contamination of stormwater runoff and prevent illegal discharges of stormwater.