A clogged manhole is stinking up a small Fayette County community, and residents say no one will fix it
A small community in Fayette County is pushing for answers after finding what appears to be raw sewage spilling into the woods, stinking up their neighborhood.
Residents in Luzerne Township said they discovered a clogged manhole about three weeks ago but said nothing has been done to address it.
"It probably is human feces with tissue paper, contaminated soil, that we know of, and I'd say there's tons of it," said Luzerne Township resident Gary Kuklish.
"We found out about the issue about three weeks ago," said Darrel Redman, who lives in Maxwell. "I called a supervisor down to my house, which he is on the sewage board, and talked to him about the smell at my house, and showed him pictures of the spill."
Redman said in addition to the smell from the blockage, a strong odor has also been coming from the Luzerne Township Sewage Authority. He told KDKA-TV that he's complained to the sewage authority for years and nothing has been done to address it.
"The smell down at my house, it's terrible," Redman said. "They put the perfume in to cover up the smell down there, and when they put that perfume in there, it'll burn your nose. When I have gatherings down there, you know, people complain about the smell. I mean, nobody wants to smell that. I mean, it's terrible."
He said since nothing has been done to address the smell, he did not tell the supervisor where the spill was.
'He asked me where it was at, and I didn't tell him where it's at; I told him, 'go find it,'" Redman said.
"They walked the line, and they can't find anything," Kuklish said. "Well, guess what? We had the fire chief out last night, and we all discovered this here hazardous waste spill."
The Luzerne Township fire chief said he called the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday night to report the issue.
KDKA Investigates called the sewage authority on Thursday. A manager there claimed she didn't know anything about the issue. She directed us to talk to township supervisors. KDKA Investigates reached out to the township to get in touch with the supervisors. They haven't called back.
Shortly after our crew arrived at the scene Thursday, a sewage authority employee showed up.
Josh Sparr did not want to go on camera, but he said after the sewage authority spent a week searching for the spill, they had just found it Thursday.
Sparr claimed the leak is not causing any environmental impact and was caused by hundreds, if not thousands, of flushable wipes. He said the sewage authority called the DEP, which allegedly told them to "take care of it and thanks for letting us know."
"You have all kind of wildlife down in there," Redman said. "You have deer down there. You have turkey down there. You have squirrels down there. You have rabbits down in there. That's eating whatever down in there. So yes, it is putting things in harm's way."
Sparr said they plan to put lime on the dirt that's been affected by residual waste.
"It's pretty bad down there," Redman said.
KDKA Investigates reached out to the state DEP for a statement on the situation. About an hour later, a DEP crew showed up at the scene to assess the situation.
In a statement, the DEP said it was on scene Thursday, and proper cleanup is underway. A blockage of wipes and rags may have caused the blockage, and it serves as a reminder not to flush extra things down the toilet, even products labeled "flushable."
A truck with a jet line showed up at the scene to unclog the line Thursday afternoon.
Luzerne Township Fire Chief Ryan Nichols shared a statement with KDKA-TV saying, "Every community deserves equal representation, regardless of its size or income level. When rural and economically challenged areas are repeatedly passed over for funding, infrastructure improvements or economic development, residents are left feeling forgotten by the very officials elected to serve them. Equal representation should mean that every community matters – not just the largest or wealthiest."
