NHT sewer project irks residents in targeted neighborhood

She bought a house on Diane Merle Drive in the Markvue Manor development, not far from where she grew up on Marcia Drive.

"This is a great place to live," she said.

Since mid-July, her quiet street has been anything but that.

Soles is among 22 homeowners along Diane Merle Drive targeted by the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority for sewer replacement and lateral line inspection to address possible water infiltration into authority lines. Other streets included in this $700,000 project are Marbury, Lower Five Pines and Niagara drives, located in the Penns Woods development.

Soles says she understands the need for infrastructure maintenance, but she and some of her neighbors are questioning whether the repairs were necessary and why the lines of communications couldn't have flowed more smoothly during the process.

"We are not the oldest section, so why us?" said Soles, whose house was built in 1972.

Nineteen homeowners, including Soles, have had lateral lines deemed deficient and in need of repairs that could cost several thousand dollars.

"I used to have a nice yard," she joked on a recent morning as she surveyed her muddy, puddle-pocked front yard with an elevated manhole in the center.

"I have to say, they protected my tree and my flowers during the digging," she said, gesturing toward a miniature tree and burst of colorful flowers accenting the front of her ranch house.

Wet weather has prevented the landscape contractor hired by the authority from completing the restoration of her property. She understands that delay.

What's bothering Soles the most is the estimated $3,300 cost to have her lateral line repaired.

In December, the municipal authority held a meeting to explain what property owners could expect during the sewer line replacement and lateral inspection.

About 30 property owners attended the informational session.

Soles and other neighbors, including Dave Jamnik, who built his house 35 years ago, said many property owners did not realize the magnitude of the project.

"They showed one picture depicting the present, a second showing the excavation project and a third showing the property all restored. One, two, three," Soles said.

Jamnik's lateral line also was determined to be failing. He was one of the eight residents issued a permit, but he's not planning to repair his lateral anytime soon because he feels it isn't deficient.

"What I want to know is, if this is such a major problem, why has no one had a sewage problem on this street?" Jamnik said he was informed that his lateral line is misaligned and in bad condition.

Jamnik said he has never been presented with any definitive evidence on the condition of his line. Further, Jamnik said he feels Diane Merle residents were unfairly selected to begin what might be a townshipwide problem.

Soles agrees.

"Why start with the residential streets? Why not do the public lines and see if that reduces flow and infiltration? Why should we have to pay?" she said.

Jamnik and Soles say they are convinced the source of any water infiltration is coming from streets above them.

John Silverio, who lives across the street from Soles, last weekend set up a Web site -- www.nhsewage.com/index.html -- to help his neighbors "get their point across."

"It's dictatorial. I just took it upon myself to stick up for the little guy. The authority is acting as judge and jury. There are a lot of retirees and lower-income people here, and they may be facing $5,000 to replace lateral lines based on the opinion of one entity," he said.

Silverio said he, too, has a lot of questions about the necessity of the project.

Authority Manager Kate Petrosky said while the township has no corrective action mandate issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the authority is simply taking a proactive approach.

"No one has been instructed to repair laterals yet. Some Diane Merle residents were anxious to find out if their laterals were deficient, so eight permits have been issued and four have made repairs. But we are no longer issuing permits," she said.

Petrosky said permits have been suspended until the contractor's 18-month bond expires. Homeowners would have 12 months after the end of that period to make repairs. If they don't comply, a lien could be placed on their property.

Authority solicitor William McCabe said all affected residents were sent a letter informing them of the pending work and asked them to respond if they did not want workers on their property.

"As far as I know, no one objected. Doing sewer work is very disruptive. I know our customers are very upset," he said.

Petrosky said the authority's inspector is following industry guidelines regarding the assessment of the condition of the lines, which may not be evident to a general plumber.

She said Diane Merle Drive was targeted because it is one of the older areas of the township and has some isolated sewage problems. She concedes the authority is learning from this initial experience.

"This is a new program, and we're learning from it how to handle this," she said.

Residents of Marbury Drive should see backhoes moving into their neighborhood next week, while the Niagara Drive project is slated to begin in February, Petrosky said.

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