Emergency repairs have to be made to the sanitary sewer line
under North Kendall Avenue, and litigation may be necessary to
recover the costs.
At Tuesday’s Bradford Sanitary Authority meeting, Chairman Dan
Hartle explained that no progress has been made on a problem
discussed last month. During the road construction on North Kendall
Avenue, a sanitary sewer line between the railroad tracks and the
entrance to American Refining Group was broken and filled with
concrete.
Discussions with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
and contractors Glenn O. Hawbaker have gone nowhere, said Barry
Anderson, manager of the sewage treatment plant.
“Nothing has been resolved,” Anderson said. “They want us to dig
it up.”
“We could go after them legally,” Hartle said. “We should make
the repair and go after them for the cost. It’s unfair to the
citizens in that neighborhood and to us (to let it stand). We have
to get it fixed.”
The authority members approved making the emergency repair.
“Document it all carefully,” said Bob Saunders, acting
solicitor.
Anderson said the representatives of PennDOT and Hawbaker had
indicated that if the Sanitary Authority were to initiate the
digging and show them the line, they’d take care of it.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Hartle said. “We didn’t have the
problem before. We have it now.”
Anderson explained the broken line is under the sidewalk. He
added that during the meeting, a representative of the contractor
said they had broken a line while working, but said they didn’t
believe it was a sanitary sewer line. “They said dig it up and show
us,” Anderson said.
The line in question is an 8-inch line that runs under the
railroad tracks on North Kendall Avenue. Before work began last
year, the authority had run a camera through the line, documenting
its condition. When they attempted to do the same after the
project, they encountered concrete.
“It’s a four or five foot section of line that’s been removed
and cemented off,” Anderson said. “The sewer is backing up into
residences.”
Hartle said the authority had been sending workers to pump out
the lines regularly, but that was forcing the sewer into houses as
well.
Also at the meeting, the authority heard from Al Vanderpoel, an
engineer who represents area townships, about the availability of
sewer hookups — EDUs, or equivalency dwelling units — from the
state Department of Environmental Protection. Vanderpoel said he
gets about one request each week for EDUs.
The DEP will grant only a limited number of additional sewer
hookups until problems with overflows at the sewage treatment plant
are corrected. The authority has been expecting an allotment, but
has yet to receive them.
“It’s been a month now,” Hartle said. “We’ll have to contact
them again. We need them.”
A resident who plans to build a home in the area addressed the
authority about EDUs as well.
“I had contacted (state Rep. Martin) Causer’s office and talked
to him,” the resident said. “Is there anything I can do” to get the
process of approving an EDU moving?
“Call the DEP,” Hartle said. “I don’t know why we don’t have
them yet.”
Engineer Jack Rae said it’s time for the authority to put
together a bid package to correct issues at the treatment plant.
The authority approved a measure to do so.
