Local officials pleased with sinkhole agreement
CONNELLSVILLE TWP. – Local officials said they were pleased with a tentative agreement reached with various legislative and local leaders Friday that, if possible, will reimburse the two agencies planning to address a mine subsidence issue in Connellsville Township.
Nearly 30 officials, including lawmakers that traveled from the nation’s capital and state capital, along with federal and state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Fayette County commissioners and planning and zoning members, to meet with Bullskin Township/Connellsville Township Joint Sewer Authority board members and Connellsville Township supervisors and local emergency management officials to learn of the existing problem, their concerns and how they could offer assistance.
Jim Penna, district director for U.S. Rep. Mark S. Critz, D-Johnstown, conducted the meeting and noted to those most affected by the subsidence that the officials want to lend assistance.
“We are looking to give you greater peace of mind,” he said.
At issue is a nearly 30-foot area along the edge of Buttermore Boulevard that has collapsed along with underground sewer lines that have fallen from their initial location.
Supervisors were alerted to the road matter on Dec. 1. The road surface collapse prompted the authority to use a camera to survey the two lines below the road and found that while intact, they are underwater.
Authority members and supervisors speculated that mine subsidence caused the cave-in and brought in a drilling firm that concluded a 10-foot void existed, which indicated mining had taken place.
According to mining documents, the H.C. Frick Coal and Coke Co. mined that section of the Pittsburgh coal seam in the early 1920s.
While it is estimated that to excavate the area, fill the existing void and support the two sewer lines would cost $8,500, authority engineer Glenn Wolfe of Widmer Engineering Inc. of Connellsville said the final price tag would not be known until the work is complete.
“And that doesn’t include engineering costs or the costs to repair the road,” he said. “(The overall cost) could be less or it could be more. However, we won’t know how much it will cost until it is done.”
The authority has agreed to move forward and make the repairs.
Pat Stefano, authority chairman, said that it is imperative the sewerage lines be supported to avoid any damage.
“We can’t wait to find out if there is going to be outside help; in the best interest of our customers the authority has made the decision to move forward,” he said.
Fred Robbins, member of the joint sewerage authority, said his goal in attending the meeting was to ascertain the level of commitment by those in attendance to help defray the cost of the pending project.
“I would like everyone to get together and say, ‘There’s a problem down there and we’ll find the money to get the job done,'” said Robbins. “We need this done to protect our citizens.
“If that line breaks in the middle of the night when the (pump) station is pumping full tilt and there is sewage all over the street and into the yards, how much disease are we going to spread around the country?”
Adding to the concern is the existence of a nearby underground mine fire and whether it would impact the repair work planned by the authority at the Buttermore Boulevard location.
John Urosik, a township resident and U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration Mine Emergency Operations engineer, disagreed with federal mining office representative Bill Ehler who advised local officials not to be concerned with the mine fire as it was unlikely the Buttermore Boulevard mining operation was connected to the one in the Hillcrest area.
“(The Hillcrest mine) is over a quarter-mile away,” said Ehler. “You would have to be careful when excavating, but there is no relationship, so let’s put that to sleep.”
Urosik countered that a fire at the site about a year ago indicated to him that there is a connection that could impact the proposed project.
The unknown problems, said Supervisor Chairman Rick Adobato, could skyrocket the costs and if all went as planned, the estimated price tag is more than what the authority or township can afford.
“This is one of the poorest counties in the state and one of the poorest municipalities in this county,” he said. “The $8,500 might not sound like a whole lot of money to a whole lot of people, but it is a whole lot of money right here.
“I can’t believe no one in this room can come up with $8,500; someone in this room needs to come up with a solution to help us with it.”
The DEP has offered to supply rock to support the sewer lines after the excavation is completed. State and federal mining officials said that no money is available to help with the emergency situation.
State Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar, and state Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Township, said that it is difficult to commit to an amount when the overall cost is unknown and a new administration is about to take the reins in Harrisburg, which could impact available funding.
“It is not like I carry it in my pocket,” said Kula. “I know there is an emergency, but there are processes that have to be followed.
“We have a new governor coming in; we don’t know what we are going to have available,” she added.
“I can tell you that if there is some way to rectify all of this we are going to be there to do it,” Kula concluded.
Barbara McMillen, USDA Rural Utilities Services specialist, also offered support and said she would be working to obtain funding.
“We are all going to try and help you,” she said.
Wolfe, meanwhile, said the project will get under way as soon as possible.
“As soon as we get the manpower and equipment together we’ll get started,” he said, adding that the authority requested no work begin until the meeting was held with lawmakers. “Now that we have heard what they have had to say, we’ll move forward.”