Permit needed before emergency work
The sewer collapsed Oct. 22. After being notified of the sinkhole, PennDOT placed barriers and traffic directors at the site. Once the agency determined what had caused the collapse, it assigned responsibility for both the sewer replacement and road repairs to the borough.
At the Oct. 26 council meeting, Borough Manager Derrick Millhouse said the sinkhole was on the side of College Avenue where Mountville Elementary School is located. Council members Philip Kresge and Geoffrey Hess were absent.
Treating the project as an emergency repair will let the borough bypass the usual bidding process so work can start as soon as possible. A permit must still be obtained before repairs begin.
The pipe replacement calls for 60 feet of materials at $100 per foot, totaling $6,000 in materials within the overall project estimate.
Why the borough is responsible
PennDOT's policy on underground drainage is the basis for its decision to make Mountville responsible for replacing the sewer. Its maintenance manual, Publication 23, Chapter 8, revised in November 2020, assigns no routine PennDOT maintenance responsibility for enclosed surface-water drainage facilities in cities, boroughs and incorporated towns unless the department has taken it on by agreement.
That policy covers inlets below grates, cross pipes and culverts, parallel pipes and culverts, and headwalls and endwalls.
PennDOT traces its curb-to-curb maintenance policy to the 1945 State Highway Law. Under Section 513, the transportation secretary determines the width and type of maintenance the department performs in boroughs and incorporated towns. PennDOT's stormwater management page also cites O'Brien v. Borough of Jeannette (1937) as a ruling that upheld the policy.
A July 25, 2025, news release from PennDOT District 12 described the division of drainage responsibilities: municipalities own underground systems in boroughs and cities, while PennDOT handles surface drainage between curb lines and subsurface drainage in townships. District 12 covers Greene, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The maintenance manual also allows PennDOT to intervene when a local government's failure to maintain an enclosed stormwater drainage system compromises the road surface and creates a public-safety emergency. In that situation, the department may fix the problem and charge the local government for the work.
Planning repairs before more sinkholes form
Millhouse urged the borough to plan repairs for other deteriorating storm sewers rather than wait for another collapse. He said advance planning would allow competitive bidding and lower repair costs.
"We are aware of several others that are in bad shape, because right now we're just playing reactive to the sinkholes and then it becomes an emergency repair," Millhouse said.
Mountville's stormwater management page describes its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, as a network of inlets, pipes and swales. The borough's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requires it to develop, implement and enforce a Stormwater Management Program.
Traffic signal repairs approved
Council authorized repairs to the emergency preemption equipment for three traffic signals: two at Main and Manor streets and one at College Avenue and Lemon Street. The equipment allows emergency responders heading to a call to change the signals as they approach.
Council's next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the large meeting room at Mountville Borough Hall.
