(6/24) Residents of Liberty Township’s Rist Trail are facing hefty costs to control stormwater or fines of up to $1,000. Township supervisors are trying to help, but their ability to do so is limited due to Rist Trail being a private road.
Supervisors first started discussing the problem last year. During major storms, water flows from Strausbaugh and Rist trails onto Bullfrog Road, Supervisor Mickey Barlow said. The supervisors noted not every property is out of compliance.
Several Rist Trail residents attended June’s board of supervisors meeting, begging the board for help. The residents said they received violation notices from KPI Technologies and Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance, which the township contracts to enforce codes. Barlow told the residents that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires the township to enforce stormwater management issues.
"We are not trying to get into a competition or a battle with you guys at all. We want to help you get into compliance with the stormwater management laws of the state of Pennsylvania," Barlow said.
The township has hosted two information sessions so residents could discuss the violation notices with KPI and PMCA. The township paid the companies in an attempt to help residents, Supervisor Bobby Keiholtz said. During the sessions, the companies met with homeowners individually to discuss concerns. Residents told the supervisors they wanted a large group meeting, but Barlow said that request was better suited for KPI or PMCA.
One resident told the supervisors that repairs to his property could cost up to $60,000. Doing nothing is not an option, Barlow said, since fines associated with the violation could be even more costly.
"If you do not want to, just let us know and we will tell the zoning officer to start fining you $1,000 a day," Barlow said.
The supervisors have instructed the zoning officer not to fine residents while they continue to work with them to come into compliance. Another resident asked the supervisors if they could adopt Rist Trail. Barlow said the request was impractical since the residents would have to first bring it into compliance with township road requirements. If that were to occur, the residents of Rist Trail would have to file a petition that included the signatures of 100% of trail property owners. Barlow noted contacting some property owners about the stormwater issues has been challenging.
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