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<p>KINGSTON TWP. &#8212; No public-sewer connection permits will be issued for new construction in the Back Mountain region due to environmental violations that must be corrected, according to a letter from the state.</p><p>The hold on the permits is preventing new home construction from continuing during the height of the building season in Dallas, Jackson, Kingston and Lehman townships as well as Dallas and Harveys Lake boroughs, said Thomas Keiper, executive director of Dallas Area Municipal Authority.</p><p>&#8220;We can issue permits for on-lot systems (septic systems),&#8221; Keiper said.</p><p>The sewer-permit stoppage prohibits municipalities from accepting building permit fees and remains in place for about six months or until DAMA develops a corrective action plan, Keiper said.</p><p>&#8220;Currently, we have 85 percent of it done,&#8221; he said. But the plan must be presented at a public meeting for comments, submitted to the state for approval, and adopted by each of the municipalities DAMA serves.</p><p>DAMA received the moratorium notification from the Department of Environmental Protection in a letter dated June 13, which stated a sewage overflow in April caused the discharge of untreated sewage from its main pumping station into Toby Creek.</p><p>The incident is not so unusual for DAMA, according to DEP&#8217;s letter.</p><p>The authority had unpermitted discharges of untreated or inadequately treated sewage March 5 and 20, 2008; Feb. 25 and 28, 2011; March 6 to March 15, 2011; April 28 to May 3, 2011; July 1, 2015; and March 27 to April 13, 2017, DEP reported.</p><p>Untreated sewage discharge into waterways is a violation of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, according to DEP&#8217;s letter.</p><p>Keiper said the reoccurring problem is a result of stormwater raising the underground water table, causing infiltration into sewer lines, as well as homeowners who illegally connected sump pumps or rain gutters to the sewer system.</p><p>DAMA&#8217;s proposed plan does contain a component to prohibit homeowners from pumping stormwater into the sewer system, Keiper said.</p><p>&#8220;Part of our plan will increase house inspections to prevent this practice,&#8221; he noted.</p><p>Keiper said DAMA is working diligently to address the issue and salvage what remains of the building season.</p><p>Dallas Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Carl Alber said he is aware of two building permits that are on hold.</p><p>&#8220;Contractors are calling me,&#8221; Alber said.</p><p>The inability to approve a building permit, which requires a sewer permit, is holding up revenue for the township.</p><p>&#8220;Permits are based on the cost of construction,&#8221; said Alber.</p><p>The moratorium is a &#8220;double-edged sword&#8221; affecting multiple facets of the building industry, Jackson Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Joe Stager said.</p><p>&#8220;This is affecting people with different trade skills who work on homes,&#8221; Stager said. &#8220;It is creating a hardship for families.&#8221;</p><p>John Halbing, president of Summit Point Builders in Dallas, is concerned about the moratorium time frame and whether he may have to lay off employees.</p><p>&#8220;This could have an adverse effect on my employees and could mean layoffs if it lasts too long,&#8221; said Halbing, who has three developments in the Back Mountain.</p><p>If construction layoffs occur, ancillary industries such as lumberyards, plumbing- and electrical-supply stores as well as local restaurants where work crews buy lunch will all experience a drop in business, Halbing predicts.</p><p>&#8220;I have been building homes for 32 years,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I never heard of this happening.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Back Mountain home construction held up by DEP order