[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
1. 
The Borough of Emmaus and Upper Milford Township hereby create a Joint Environmental Advisory Council.
2. 
The Environmental Advisory Council shall be composed of eight members, four residents from each of the two municipalities.
3. 
Council members shall be appointed in accordance with the following procedures:
A. 
Each governing body shall appoint four members of the Council, each of whom shall be a resident of the appointing municipality.
B. 
Whenever possible, one member appointed by each participating municipality shall also be a member of the municipal planning commission of that municipality.
C. 
Council members' terms of office shall expire on the first Monday in January following the last year of their term of office; provided, however, that members shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed by the appropriate municipality(ies), in the event successors are not appointed as of the first Monday in January following the last year of their term.
D. 
Members of the Council shall serve terms of three years, except that the terms of the initial members appointed by their respective municipality, shall be staggered as follows: one member's term shall initially be for one year, one member's initial term shall be for two years, two members' initial terms shall be for three years. Terms of the initial members shall be determined after the appointment of the initial eight members of the Council through the drawing of lots among them or other method acceptable to the members at their organizational meeting. Members shall continue to serve until their successors are duly appointed by the appropriate participating municipality(ies).
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
Members shall receive no compensation for their services but may be reimbursed for the expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties when, as and to the extent that the Environmental Advisory Council may have funds available for such purposes. The participating municipalities may, from time to time, elect in their sole discretion to make appropriations to or on behalf of the Environmental Advisory Council. The Environmental Advisory Council may accept funding from public or private sources to further its activities. The adoption of this Part 3F does not in any way commit the adopting municipality to make any appropriation or payment to or for the benefit of the Environmental Advisory Council.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
A chair of the Environmental Advisory Council shall be elected annually during the month of January by the members of the Council.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
1. 
The Environmental Advisory Council is to be advisory to and shall coordinate its activities with the elected officials of the participating municipalities and with appropriate agencies of the participating municipal ties, including, but not limited to, the elected officials, their planning commissions and their park and/or recreation boards, on matters dealing with environmental issues common to both municipalities which the municipal officials direct the Council to investigate.
2. 
The Environmental Advisory Council shall not exercise any powers or perform any duties which by law are conferred or imposed upon a Commonwealth agency.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
Meetings of the Council shall be held at the call of the chair and at such other times as the Council shall determine. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, except for meetings which may be held in executive session under applicable law for the purpose of preparing and delivering advice to the governing bodies of the participating municipalities concerning the acquisition or disposition of real estate. The Council shall keep records of its meetings and activities and shall make a written annual report to the governing bodies of the municipalities. To the extent that either of the municipalities publish or file annual reports of their activities, the annual report of the Environmental Advisory Council shall be included in that municipality's annual report. If either of the participating municipalities do not publish or file an annual report, such municipality(ies) shall make appropriate arrangements to have the annual report of the Environmental Advisory Council made known and available to its citizens.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
1. 
The Environmental Advisory Council shall have the following duties:
A. 
Advise the appropriate governmental agencies concerning the benefits of, potential for, methods of accomplishing and other facts relevant to the management recommendations contained in the Emmaus Wellhead Protection Plan and the Leibert Creek Watershed Assessments.
B. 
Identify environmental problems, issues, and trends affecting the participating municipalities.
C. 
Recommend plans and programs to the appropriate agencies of the municipalities for the promotion and conservation of the natural resources and for the protection and improvement of the quality of the environment within the corporate boundaries of the participating municipalities.
D. 
Make recommendations as to the appropriate use of open land areas.
E. 
Develop, recommend, and promote community environmental programs designed to enhance public awareness of environmental issues affecting the municipalities, the alternatives available to address such issues and the impact each alternative may have upon the environment and the development of the region.
F. 
To work cooperatively with public, private, commercial, and industrial entities in the area to develop a better understanding of the potential environmental impacts of public and private sector actions and to coordinate activities to minimize any negative impact arising therefrom.
G. 
To undertake such additional environmental tasks as requested by the joint action of the governing bodies of the participating municipalities.
H. 
Adopt by-laws of the Council governing the conduct of business.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
To the extent that the Environmental Advisory Council receives public or private finding, all such funds shall be held, administered, and paid on behalf of the Environmental Advisory Council by the finance officials of the Borough of Emmaus or Upper Milford Township under and in accord with the generally accepted accounting practices applicable to municipalities.
[Ord. 991, 2/7/2005]
If either the Borough of Emmaus or Upper Milford Township determines that future participation in the Environmental Advisory Council is no longer beneficial, they may jointly or separately repeal this Part 3F with written notice to the other municipality.