Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors would like to congratulate Edgmont Township for recently being recognized as a Bronze-Certified Sustainable Pennsylvania Community for meeting the program’s rigorous performance criteria, which provide a foundational approach
for building communities that thrive. Edgmont Township now joins a select group of high-performing municipalities to become certified through the Sustainable Pennsylvania program.
Sustainable Pennsylvania is a joint project of the Pennsylvania Municipal League and Sustainable Pittsburgh. It is a voluntary performance recognition program designed to help municipalities set and achieve sustainability goals, save money, conserve resources and foster a vibrant community.
“Edgmont Township has an established history of implementing sustainable practices,” explained Jessica Redding, Assistant to the Township Manager. “We recently became aware of the Sustainable Pennsylvania project while applying for grant funding and decided to move forward with applying for certification.” Jessica said that the process included submitting answers to over 150 questions as well as providing documentation relating to sustainable practices already in place.
Those practices include Edgmont’s work in adopting a Comprehensive Plan update for Recreation, Open Space and Trails to identify the current and potential future demands and needs for recreational parks and facilities, identify opportunities for future open space preservation, and provide a vision for a trail network that connects neighborhoods to parks, businesses and community facilities. Township officials furthered their commitment to sustainability by issuing an ordinance to adopt and provide uniform technical standards and criteria for the management of stormwater runoff from new land development and redevelopment sites throughout the watersheds in the Township to comply with Act 167.
When asked about municipal-sponsored events with a sustainability component for residents, they submitted information about the Edgmont Firehouse National Night Out, where each year they provide residents who visit the township’s table with green guide pamphlets for property management, stormwater best management practices, EPA water pollution prevention control and a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
fact sheet. Another annual event is their streams clean up, where the township and community members partner with Chester Ridley Crum Creek Watersheds Association and clean a portion of the township that runs into the streams. Edgmont also regularly provides its residents with information on recycling, household hazardous waste, electronic waste and leaf and yard waste.
In earning the Bronze certification, Edgmont Township is acknowledged for its progress in such areas as community design and land use, energy efficiency, health and wellness, intergovernmental cooperation, recycling and waste reduction, fiscal controls and internal management and operations.
“Earning this certification is just the beginning,” Jessica said. “Although our status is valid for three years, the Sustainable PA Program offers us the ability to continually update our progress toward earning higher level designations.” Municipalities who engage with the free program have access to their own Sustainable PA account, where they can view their current and past achievements, pull reports from their previous assessments, commit to future goals and access a wealth of resources.
Thank you to our Edgmont Township officials and community advocates for your ongoing commitment toward a healthier, more beautiful and more sustainable place to live, work and play.