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A local North Huntingdon family have sold their
home and our scheduled to close on May 15th. A new policy by the
North Huntingdon Municipal Sewage Authority required that the
NHTMA come out to run their lateral inspection test and could
not find the home's sewage vent pipe. The test was not conducted.
They were told three things:
1. Find it themselves (The family could not locate it)
2. Hire someone else to find it
3. Hire an excavator to dig up our line so they could install
a vent
The sell of their home is now in jeopardy and no one from the
NHTMA will give them any straight answers! Their home sell is
jeopardized because of this NHTMA policy. These long time North
Huntingdon residents and NHTMA customers will take legal action
against the NHTMA if their home fails to transfer as planned.
How can real estate transfers in North Huntingdon happen with
this burdensome sewer lateral inspection process? Homeowners who
are selling their property are now faced with undue pressure and
potential expenses in the thousands of dollars. And what prospect
is going to stay interested in buying a property after they see
that their yard and other property need torn up? No other municipality
is doing this sewer lateral inspection process either. Please
contact your local township commissioners to protest this draconian
enforcement by the NHTMA. And ask them why the NHTMA officials
will not assist their customers in this questionable procedure.
Click here to read more from the Tribune Review article “North
Huntingdon sewer inspections blasted” |
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| Determined residents met today with state officials
to discuss the sewer line replacement project on Diane Merle Drive
and its financial burden on selected residents. Serious concern
over questionable NHTMA testing procedures that forced residents
to spend thousands of dollars to comply with undefined standards
for private lateral inspections were heard. Residents questioned
the whole project and why it even happened on a new street like
Diane Merle. Officials were interested in hearing about how some
NHTMA personnel had assisted and pressured residents with their
replacement of failed private lateral connections. Many questions
need answers and determined residents will stay in touch as further
investigation of this project ensues. Please visit here again
as updated information is coming. |
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| To the many visitors to this web site, we thank
you for your continued support. It is great to know that so many
of you are behind our efforts. All citizens must constantly be
aware of what is happening to them and then question those who
are in charge. It's all our responsibility. If not, we are headed
for some deep trouble. Until we are completely satisfied with
the answers we have asked, you can be assured that we will continue
with our struggle. And we hope that you will actively join us
in our struggle. "Power to the people.” |
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The authority will continue its crusade to address
storm water infiltration by requiring homeowners to have an
inspection of lateral sewer lines prior to a sale, transfer
or refinancing of their property beginning May 1.
Some quotes from the article:
"Other communities do (lateral testing on a home sale)
already, but doing it for a transfer and refinancing is just
ridiculous. It may have bearing on whether someone gets a loan.
This is going to affect people who have lived in their older
homes only a short time ... and these are the people that can
least afford it," she said.
"It's just another way for the township to get money out
of property owners. I can see doing the dye testing, but this
lateral inspection is not right at all. I'm against it. It could
make people not want to buy in the township and go through all
that. It will hurt our sales," she said.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of costs already associated
with refinancing and purchasing property and loan payments,
so I think buyers and sellers are aware they are always escalating,"
he said.
Click here to read the article from Tribune Review
Click
here to read another similar article from Pittsburgh Post Gazzette
published on March 27th |
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| Local residents recently affected by major sewer
line replacements have voiced fears of potential gas line ruptures
like the recent one that happened in Plum Borough that caused
death and destruction. They are concerned that the same thing
may happen here in North Huntingdon as in Plum Borough. Could
the gas lines have been compromised by this recent sewer work?
And could the evident sinking of water laden soil in many residents
yards place undue loads on these older gas lines? Some residents
were concerned that the gas lines in their yards may have been
nicked which could also be problematic. And when it comes to gas,
residents have legitimate safety concerns. These issues will be
brought to the attention the NHTMA at the next meeting. Check
back here for details on their response. |
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North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority
General manager Kate Petrosky reported some sobering data to
township commissioners last week that will result in expense
to many homeowners in three older housing developments according
to a published article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on September
20th. The authority plans to begin phase 1 of a test and inspection
of private lateral sewer lines of 461 homes by early November,
starting with 121 in Penns Woods. Affected streets include St.
Clair, Niagara, Torie, Wayne and Marvin Drives, Colonial Manor
and Five Pines Roads, plus Easy Street in the western end of
the municipality.
Ninety Five Percent May Require Repairs
Costing Homeowners Between $1.75 to $2.5 Million
“Original estimates envisioned 70 percent of the laterals
tested would contain serious defects,” said Mrs. Petrosky.
“However, actual inspections revealed 90-95 percent
may require repairs. We estimate 25% of the homeowners will
qualify for grant funding,” she added. The average estimated
cost of repairs is $4,000. Owners would have 90 days to make
repairs.
Four Phases Of The Remaining Schedule
Planned
“Due to the unanticipated large number of defects, the
Authority board determined that the funding and repair schedule
be divided into four phases, the first of which is covered under
the 2007 program,” Mrs. Petrosky said. The final three
phases will involve 340 homes.
| Phase 2 |
Marbury Drive and additional parts of Niagara
in Penns Woods; Diane Merle Drive and Lower Five Pines Road
in Markvue Manor; and Country Hills. |
| Phase 3 & 4 |
Remainder of Country Hills |
Click
here to read the entire article in the Post Gazette |
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Does the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority
have the legal authority to place liens on those property owners
who decide not to replace private property lateral connections?
The NHTMA has the legal right to exercise liens for non-payments
of provided services. But selected homeowners are asking how the
NHTMA has the legal right to use liens against their private property
to enforce questionable and undefined policies? This lien action
has no connection with the failure of a NHTMA customer to pay
for services rendered. The NHTMA has recently implemented private
property liens to make their customers replace private property
lateral connections during recent major sewer replacement projects.
Retirees and Seniors Financially
Hurt
Many of those affected are retirees and senior citizens living
on fixed incomes. They are facing a difficult financial burden
that's selectively enforced upon them by the NHTMA. Once again,
is this enforcement legal? And many selected homeowners are justifiably
asking why other NHTMA customers are not having this same type
of enforcement action directed towards them. It sure does appears
discriminatory to them. Some have contacted their state and federal
representatives for clarification on this powerful tool that the
NHTMA is using on its customers. Homeowners have also spoken with
both the EPA and DEP and were told that their is no mandated action
coming from their offices to be placed on private properties.
Investigation Continues On
Please check back here as further investigation will continue
by the selected homeowners into this action. And if any lawyer
would contact us homeowners to clarify this further, please click
here to email us. Unfortunately, the expensive legal process
is not an easy road for these selected homeowners to pursue after
they have already spent thousands of dollars replacing their laterals
and repairing other private property damages not covered by the
NHTMA. If you would like to learn more about Pennsylvania Municipal
Authorities, click
here to download a Adobe Acrobat PDF document. |
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Momentum Is Rapidly Growing
Thank you to the many thousands of recent visitors to this web
site who are now supporting our cause. Please check back often
for continuing updates on the sewer project's ongoing status as
it is currently in the restoration phase. It has been close to
three months since this questionable project begun with no improvements
witnessed by the homeowners living on Diane Merle Drive. All NHTMA
ratepayers should continue to question why this project happened
at such a great expense with no visible improvements to questionable
sewer infiltration problems.
Change
In Strategy
Work has begun on Marbury Road and it should be interesting. On
this street the NHTMA has laid the new sewer line in the road,
unlike how it was placed in the lawns of our private properties.
Why didn't the homeowners living on Diane Merle Drive receive
the same treatment? We were told that for us living on Diane Merle
Drive that the cost of stone was too high if the new sewer was
placed in our road. But the project on Marbury Drive has received
more than $150,000 than what was allocated to Diane Merle Drive.
Permanent Property Damage
Time will only tell if the destruction caused from this NHTMA
decision will result in permanent property damage for many of
the selected homeowners on Diane Merle Drive. Lawns are slow to
recover, driveways still are patchworks of mismatched asphalt
and concrete surfaces, and some utilities have still not been
restored to their previous conditions. Homeowners are also anxious
for the street to be paved since it's like driving on an off-road
obstacle course with dangerous ruts and broken surfaces. Everyday
homeowners hear the loud bangs as unsuspecting drivers cars bottom
out as they drive down our street. |
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Project Not Mandated By
DEP or EPA
This major sewer line replacement project on Diane Merle Drive
and also on Marbury Road and Niagara Drive was not the result
of any DEP or EPA mandates as previously stated by the NHTMA
and published in newspaper articles. It was enacted solely by
the NHTMA as a proactive attempt to help reduce sewer line infiltration.
This infiltration causes NHTMA holding stations to operate near
maximum capacity during heavy rains. And the project on Diane
Merle Drive was influenced by an isolated sewage problem one
homeowner experienced stemming from sewage flooding their basement
during a major rain storm a few years ago. Did this isolated
problem result in 19 homeowners having to replace their expensive
laterals?
Video Testing Criteria Not Defined
The NHTMA told those in attendance that there is no criteria
for evaluating private property laterals through their video
testing program. Homeowners were confused and surprised by this
statement. Some had been told earlier by the NHTMA supervisor
that their private laterals had failed video inspections. The
NHTMA did admit that their communication process has made some
errors and the homeowners did agree with this statement. The
sewer line project on Diane Merle Drive was the first step in
an ongoing multi-year project and that these miscommunications
were expected.
All Property Transfers To Require Video
Inspections
The NHTMA told those in attendance that any property transferred
to another, whether by sale or through other means, will first
require a video inspection of laterals by the NHTMA. If the
private lateral fails this video inspection, it must be replaced
before the property can be transferred. And there is a $150
fee to conduct this test along with the costs for a required
dye test. Specific details are still being worked out concerning
the specified time frame for the laterals to be replaced when
necessary. This procedure should be finalized in the next few
months.
Other NHTMA Customers Not Scheduled
Homeowners had asked again if there is a schedule in place for
other homes to have video inspections done by the NHTMA. They
were surprised when informed that there is no schedule in place
to conduct these tests. This response frustrated those selected
homeowners who already spent thousands of dollars to replace
their laterals to help correct the infiltration problems. Now
they were told that others may not need to take any corrective
actions according to a planned time frame. Affected homeowners
feel that something just is not fair here since others are not
being asked to help reduce infiltration problems too. |
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| Many homeowners are dissatisfied with their property
restorations by the NHTMA. Driveways are now patchworks of what
they were before with mismatches in the concrete and blacktop
surfaces. Once beautiful yards have been restored with grass that
has many weeds and large bare spots. Homeowners here have endured
more stress than was necessary by this NHTMA project. They were
told that their properties would be restored to how they were
before this project began. There is a NHTMA document outlining
the property restoration process which has many items in it that
are not being properly followed. And we will make sure that the
NHTMA lives up to their promise. Take a drive down Diane Merle
Drive to see for yourself how the homeowners' private properties
now look compared to the other properties that were not damaged
by this NHTMA project. Selected homeowners from Diane Merle Drive
anxiously await the day whenever their properties are restored
as promised and look as they had before this project! |
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on above photos to view larger image |
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Conflicting NHTMA Statements
Given
The Tribune Review published an article on August 28th discussing
what happened here on Diane Merle Drive with this North Huntingdon
Township Municipal Authority sewer project. Homeowners had contacted
the newspaper looking for an outlet to help bring attention to
this questionable project and its significant impact and cost
to the 20 selected homeowners. Many contradictions to what the
NHTMA had told the homeowners were mentioned and only added to
the continued frustrations of the 20 selected homeowners who have
heard many differing stories as to why this project was done.
The latest startling revelation from the NHTMA was that this major
project was done without any mandate from the EPA. This is the
first time the homeowners had heard from the NHTMA that the project
was done as a proactive approach. Concerning homeowners replacing
their private property laterals, another conflicting NHTMA response
was given.
Major Contradiction By NHTMA
"No one was instructed to repair laterals yet." stated
Kate Petrosky, the NHTMA General Manager. This statement is simply
false. Many homeowners were told by the NHTMA Supervisor Charles
Gilbert that their laterals needed replaced because they had failed
the video tests. These NHTMA video test results have not yet been
seen by the homeowners. And the procedure for how this video testing
was done is being challenged by the homeowners for its accuracy
and fairness. Their results are highly prejudiced as only the
opinion of the NHTMA supervisor decided and the homeowners could
not secure the opinions of an unbiased third party such as a certified
plumber. The video testing was done during dry weather conditions
and without written specifications making its conclusions concerning
lateral infiltration very suspect. Homeowners were not told when
the video tests were taking place and not given the fair opportunity
to witness them. Finally, if there were no orders given by the
NHTMA, then why were permits issued to these homeowners?
Private Property Consent Questioned
Another interesting statement was provided by Bill McCabe, the
NHTMA solicitor. He stated that the selected homeowners were sent
a letter informing them of the pending work and asked them to
respond if they did not want workers on their property. No homeowner
had seen this letter and many are questioning what authority does
the NHTMA have to go onto their private properties without the
homeowners permission in writing to perform any work. Some homeowners
have reported abuses of their private property and questioned
why contractors and NHTMA personnel were permitted to act in this
manner. And finally, many homeowners are questioning if the NHTMA
has the legal right to inspect their private property lateral
connections without the homeowners' consent and witness.
Older Areas Of The Township?
Ms. Petrosky also stated that Diane Merle Drive was targeted
because it is one of the older areas of the township. Not so!
Diane Merle Drive was built in 1972 and there are many other streets
in North Huntingdon from the 1950's and 1960's that need their
sewer lines replaced instead. She also stated that an isolated
sewage problem occurred on DIane Merle Drive. This had happened
years ago and all other homeowners living on this street have
never had any sewage problems. DId the NHTMA make the other 19
homeowners repair perfectly working lateral connections because
of this one isolated instance? Some homeowners claim to have heard
Ms. Petrosky say that this project on Diane Merle Drive was done
to placate the demands of the NHTMA insurance carrier. If another
claim by this affected homeowner was made, then the NHTMA insurance
carrier would not pay and may even cancel their policy. Homeowners
believe this may be the real reason why this project happened
on their street.
Diane Merle Drive Homeowners
Thank The Tribune Review |
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Video Testing Coming
For All NHTMA Customers
The NHTMA has decided to implement the video testing of all its
customers in the near future. If a customer sells their private
property it must have its lateral video tested by the NHTMA before
the transfer can occur. If it fails, then it must be replaced
before the transfer is completed. And all other homeowners served
by the NHTMA are scheduled to have their laterals tested in the
near future. And these homeowners will have to replace their laterals
if they fail the NHTMA video inspection. If one decides not to
replace their lateral, then a lien will be placed on their property
by the NHTMA. Homeowners on Diane Merle Drive were told that no
other NHTMA customer will escape the video inspection procedure.
All NHTMA customers must fairly contribute to solving this infiltration
problem caused by private property lateral connections. Check
back here soon for more updates.
Other
Communities Following NHTMA's Lead
Homeowners were told that many other local sewage authorities
are implementing this same enforcement action on private properties.
There were two major sewer line replacement projects recently
completed in Pitcarin and in Homestead. But we could not find
any evidence of these affected homeowners having their lateral
connections tested? But our advice to those not being served by
the NHTMA is to watch your sewage authority very closely. Ask
them about this enforcement activity. It can save you thousands
of dollars.
Legal Assistance
Sought
If you are an attorney who can help our cause, please
email us by clicking here. Homeowners from Diane Merle Drive
have patiently tried to work with the NHTMA, but are getting frustrated
with changing answers to our concerns and mounting personal property
expenses. The NTHMA has the dedicated services of an attorney
that is provided at the costs of us who happen to be ratepayers
too. Most of us are retirees, seniors, or single family wage earners
who must now respond through the legal process. And we want to
help protect other NHTMA customers who are our neighbors from
enduring this same ordeal and expense caused by this questionable
program that was enforced on twenty selected homeowners. |
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Private Property Permanently
Damaged
Look at many photos that show what has happened on Diane Merle
Drive. Here you can examine various photos of how selected homeowners
private property quickly went from beautiful to unsightly landscapes.
Many have been permanently damaged. Please stop back often to
visit as new photos will be added. It is important to show our
neighbors what happened on this project.
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Voices Finally Heard
Today the Mckee sport Daily News front page article pointed out
what selected homeowners living on Diane Merle Drive have endured
since June from the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority.
This major sewer line replacement project has left several yards
and driveways in shambles, runoff on the street from a nearby
hillside, and tempers short. “We want to know why this
work was done when there was never a issue in the first
place. The line that is in there now was about 85% with
rain water. We want to know where it is coming from. We have not
been given any answers. The rules (the township) made just keep
changing.” stated a homeowner.
NHTMA Reasons Change
NHTMA general manager Kate Petrosky said that the project was
undertaken as per the Federal Clean Water Act that mandates storm
runoff and sanitary water sewage be separated. At the pumping
stations or the homeowners' private property? This is the first
time homeowners have heard this claim. We will be seeking clarification
from the Department of Environmental Resources. After reviewing
the EPA Clean Water Act on its web site (Click
here to review this EPA Act), one was unable to find references
to home owners' private property sewer laterals anywhere? Homeowners
initially were told in a public meeting in December and throughout
this protracted project that this project was mandated by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (DEP). “We
are understanding and are working towards a resolution”,
she said. If a resolution cannot be reached to the homeowners'
interests, then one will be sought in the legal system.
Seeking Straight Answers
Please keep visiting this web site for updates and new information.
And tell your neighbors and friends about it. Other property owners
served by the NHTMA will face this same hardship in the near future
as those living on Diane Merle Drive. And please attend the NHTMA's
next public meeting to be held at 7 PM on September 5th at the
North Huntingdon Municipal building. Especially those homeowners
from the next phase of the project who live on Marbury Road and
Niagara Drive. We'll see you there!
Diane Merle
Drive Homeowners Thank The Mckee sport Daily News |
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Read about how this project amazingly did not reduce any sewer
infiltration. Is the Marbury Road project on hold? How retirees,
seniors, and single earner families face undue financial pressures.
Abuse of power by the NHTMA? What happens after the rain on Diane
Merle Drive? Read about the firing of the contractor. And how
19 of the 20 homeowners lateral connections had failed their video
tests. |
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