McKees Rocks borough officials believe that a tunnel project being proposed by Allegheny County Sanitary Authority will result in economic, environmental and social injustice in their community.

They filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop it.

The complaint, filed against Alcosan, includes multiple claims for public nuisance, alleging that the construction of a 14-foot wide, 0.8 mile long tunnel under the Ohio River to convey sewage to the authority’s existing Woods Run Treatment Facility, will cause one of McKees Rocks’ business districts to become a dumping ground; that it will deter any further development and create gridlock.

The plaintiffs believe the construction project, slated to begin in 2023 and go on for at least four years, will also impact the neighboring Hays Manor public housing community and a nearby church.

The borough is seeking an injunction to halt the construction of the project.

“It’s going to hurt us severely,” said Council President Archie Brinza.

On Tuesday afternoon, borough officials held a news conference on the site of a proposed, football-field size pit — the launch pit — for the project.

They said they only learned of Alcosan’s plans to buy the vacant Crivelli Chevrolet property along Chartiers Avenue — which closed in late 2019 — when they saw surveyors working there last summer.

The assessed value of the property is $2.8 million, but Alcosan bought it in December for $2 million.

Brinza said that the construction project will obstruct the residents and the shopping plaza, but more than that, the sale to Alcosan will result in a loss of $28,000 annually in tax revenue.

Attorney Steven Engel, who filed the lawsuit, called the project “an environmental injustice” that will unfairly impact residents of Hays Manor who do not have vehicles and rely on public transportation to get groceries and medication.

Brinza said McKees Rocks officials have had meetings with Alcosan representatives, but never get any substantive answers.

“I think they thought nobody would fight it,” Engel said. “‘Poor little McKees Rocks, they won’t care.’”

Alcosan spokesman Joey Vallarian said he could not comment on pending litigation.

“However, Alcosan has not yet determined what the use of the Crivelli property will be, but the opportunity to purchase property that was so close to existing infrastructure was prudent for both Alcosan and our ratepayers as we continue with our Clean Water Plan,” he said in an email. “As always, Alcosan remains committed to working with our partner communities as we move forward to improve the water quality in our rivers and streams.”

Engel said that the borough has suggested several other locations for the launch pit for the tunnel, including parcels Alcosan already owns, that would be suitable for the project but cause less community impact. But Alcosan rejected them.

Alcosan signed a consent decree in 2008 that required the submission of a long-term control plan by 2026.

Under that consent decree, the lawsuit said, Alcosan was required to coordinate with its customer municipalities and get input from them and the public on the development of its Wet Weather Plan.

However, the lawsuit alleges that Alcosan did not do that with regard to the location of the tunnel construction. Instead, the comment they attached to their 2019 Clean Water Plan, was from 2013 for projects upstream.

“We’re not going to stand for this,” said Mayor John Muhr. “We have to fight as hard as we can.

“We have one of the best locations in the county — you can walk to the City of Pittsburgh from here,” the mayor said. “And we want to keep it that way.”

Having an active construction site for five years — which is expected to produce about 200,000 cubic yards of material — will result in increased truck traffic, noise, odors, runoff, dust and dirt.

Borough studies show that its construction will cause additional traffic and gridlock nearby.

“If people are going to have to sit in traffic for a long time, are they going to want to even come to these businesses?” Engel asked.

The lawsuit alleges that the purchase of the land — without public process as mandated by the EPA’s consent decree — will set back decades of progress.

“Imagine a perpetual, massive open pit 150-feet-deep and as large as a football field that would be the dumping and hauling station for millions pounds of dirt and sludge for at least five years,” Brinza said in a news release. “Now imagine that project — and all of the dump trucks, debris and construction traffic that goes along with it — at the gateway to your neighborhood’s business district for decades, adjacent to low-income residents and on one of the most highly valued pieces of taxable property.

“And take it one step further. Imagine this decision being made in the shadows, amid a pandemic, and without the federally mandated public process required by the consent decree.”

The shopping center where the property sits is fully occupied, and a new Rite-Aid opened there.

“What’s the point of beautfiying an area if they’re going to drop a giant hole in the middle of it?” Engel said.

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