The head of the Lehigh County Authority was a no-show at Wednesday night’s Lehigh County commissioners’ meeting, which he had been asked to attend to explain why LCA is not accepting financial responsibility for raw sewage that flooded the basements of three west Allentown homes.
The commissioners will look into whether they have the authority to issue a subpoena requiring Aurel Arndt, LCA’s chief executive officer, to appear before them.
Although some were not happy Arndt didn’t show up after telling them he would be there, Commissioner Vic Mazziotti said Arndt may have had a very good reason and advised: “Let’s wait and see.”
Lisa Scheller, chairwoman of the nine commissioners, said it was disappointing and “quite frustrating” that Arndt did not attend or advise them he would not be attending. “I only hope that he is okay,” she said.
LCA spokeswoman Liesel Adam was unable to reach Arndt after the commissioners meeting. She said he knew the commissioners wanted to talk with him about the issue, but was unsure of his schedule.
Adam said it would be out of character for Arndt to not show up at a meeting he had committed to attend.
Two of the three West End families were represented at the commissioners’ meeting.
The elderly residents have faced thousands of dollars in expenses to clean up the mess and repair or replace damaged property.
The cost for just one of the three homes totaled $26,000, said Scheller, who added: “All three families are on fixed incomes.”
Scheller asked Arndt to attend the meeting to explain why LCA doesn’t have any responsibility to “help people overcome tens of thousands of dollars of damages in their homes.”
The sewage back-up into those homes was caused by tree roots and excessive grease in the main sewer line under the street in the 300 block of College Drive.
The problem began with a gurgling sound around 9:30 p.m. May 13.
Residents found sewage spurting at least a foot into the air out of basement drains and running across the floors. In one home, it even came out of a toilet.
Soon the smelly mess was several inches deep in all three basements.
One of those basements had been completely finished as additional living space and the other two were partially finished.
An LCA crew came out that night and flushed the main line, which caused the liquid sewage in the basements to recede.
But the damage had been done. A professional cleaning company had to be hired to clean up the mess left behind.
Legally, LCA would be responsible only if it was deemed negligent and its own insurance company determined it was not, said Adam, the LCA spokeswoman, after the commissioners meeting.
LCA took over the operation of Allentown’s sanitary sewer system in August 2013, as part of a 50-year water and sewer lease with the city.
Some county commissioners unsuccessfully tried to stop LCA from winning that lease with the city and resent the way it was reached.
But the only control that commissioners have over LCA is approving the appointment of its board members.
Residents’ position
Patricia Lipovsky read a letter expressing the sentiments of the long-time homeowners impacted by the sewage backup.
The letter was signed by herself, Elsie and Reynold Schneck and Ann Ackerman.
Lipovsky said it not fair to allow a public sewer system damage and devalue private property and then force the homeowners to pay the entire cost of the clean up and reconstruction.
“The agency responsible for the damage is denying responsibility,”
said Lipovsky.
She said homeowners were advised in June by LCA’s insurance company that their claim was being denied because LCA had no prior knowledge of a build-up or blockage in the main sewer line.
She argued LCA did have prior knowledge of the condition. “The last report of maintenance to the College Drive sewer line is dated April 2012. We believe the courts would agree that a two-year gap in maintenance of sewer line conditions is neglectful.”
The letter read by Lipovsky suggested all LCA customers should worry that they too could be victims of a government agency “that blatantly disregards public health and safety.”
“We ask the Lehigh County Authority to do the right thing. Revisit this matter and insure us for our loss.”
Ackerman also briefly addressed the commissioners.
“For years, I’ve always been under the impression that what happened from the curb in was our responsibility and what happened from the curb out was the county or city’s responsibility,” said Ackerman. “I just want them to hold up to their responsibility.”
She later added: “We were hoping they would reimburse us for the clean-up and what we lost.”
Subpoena?
“I’m extremely disappointed that Mr. Arndt isn’t here,” said Commissioner Michael Schware.
“Hopefully, it’s for a good reason. If it’s not for a good reason, I believe this board has methods or other avenues to have Mr. Arndt come here before us other than politely inviting him.”
“These good people deserve some answers,” Allentown resident Joe Hilliard told the commissioners. “I wouldn’t even ask Aurel Arndt again. I would just subpoena him. You do have subpoena powers.”
Hilliard even suggested commissioners take an immediate vote to subpoena Arndt, but that didn’t happen.
Atty. Eman Jarrah, the deputy county solicitor, advised holding off until her office can look into the specific procedure for the commissioners to issue a subpoena.
“It’s not a commonly used power,” she said, later acting that power “may not apply in this situation.”
“No need to act harshly,” said Commissioner David Jones.
Hilliard said: “If this is the kind of service we can look forward to under the LCA…we’re going to have to again open up dissolving the LCA.”
Commissioner Percy Dougherty suggested a different first legal step: checking with the county solicitor to find out what legal authority, if any, the county has over LCA to require it to accept responsibility for the problem. He noted LCA is “not a direct county agency.”
If the county can’t do anything, Dougherty said: “We can go to our state legislators to see if something can be done.”
Jill Smith of Salisbury Township, who is Lipovsky’s daughter, told commissioners the three property owners have consulted with lawyers, who said they may have a claim. But she said hiring lawyers involves more costs for people “who don’t have the money to pay for the clean-up.”
LCA’s position
After the commissioners meeting, Adam of LCA said it’s not clear from city maintenance records when that College Heights sewer main had been last cleaned out.
But she said it now is on a schedule for routine maintenance, which is done in any areas prone to backups. She said some problem lines are cleaned quarterly, others monthly.
Adam said LCA also sprayed chemicals inside that sewer line earlier this summer to kill tree roots, adding one application is good for three to five years.
She said LCA would be responsible to pay for the backup cleanup and damage only if gross negligence was proven, meaning if the authority knew a sewage backup was pending on College Drive and didn’t do anything to prevent it.
“We had no information from the city that these lines had to be cleaned on more than an annual basis.”
Adam said the owners of the three homes have been “appealing to the good nature of public officials” to try to get LCA to do something anyway, even though their claim against LCA was denied.
She explained LCA is concerned about the kind of precedent that would be set if the authority would begin paying when it’s not legally obligated to do so.
She also said the impacted property owners have never gone to LCA’s office “to talk to us” and never attended an LCA board meeting to do so.
“We would be open to talking to them about it,” she said.
Homeowners’ insurance
During the meeting, Mazziotti asked about insurance coverage under the residents’ homeowners policies.
“Basically, the property owners’ insurance companies are saying ‘we’re not covering you because it’s not even on your property’,” said Smith.
The insurance companies said it wouldn’t be covered because it was off-premises, meaning in the street, said Smith. “It’s not the homeowner’s responsibility; therefore it’s not covered under the homeowner’s insurance policy.”
Smith also told commissioners the insurance companies said homeowners’
policies do not cover sewage backups unless specific extra coverage is purchased. She said none of the owners of the three properties had that additional coverage.
Allentown resident Thomas Cunningham told commissioners what happened should be a learning experience for all homeowners.
“Look at your homeowner’s policy and call your insurance agent,” he said. “You’ll be surprised at what is not covered.”