Federal shutdown could affect deadline for Jeannette flood mitigation project

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County might not meet a state-imposed deadline to complete a program to install new sewer lines in Jeannette because of the federal government shutdown, agency officials said Wednesday.

Construction on the $14 million flood mitigation project, which has been in the works since 2019, started last week.

It includes lining more than 6 miles of pipe, relocating existing sewer lines and installing equipment to keep stormwater and sewage from backing up into private homes and businesses.

A consent order with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection requires MAWC to finish the project by the end of next year. The work, funded through federal loans, is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

Contracts and construction plans require approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which, because of the federal shutdown, furloughed staff charged with conducting reviews of the Jeannette project, MAWC officials said.

“They’re not working and we have three contracts and other work pending approval,” said Dan Schmitt, the authority’s consulting engineer.

MAWC manager Michael Kukura said it is unclear how long the federal shutdown could delay the Jeannette project or how it could impact the state’s deadline for completion.

Work crews last week started to expose sewer lines along Chambers Avenue, and additional work is expected to begin in the coming months that will touch multiple neighborhoods in the city. Jeannette’s downtown business district will not be impacted, Schmitt said.

Jeannette sewer customers will repay the loans over the next 40 years.

Residents for years have struggled with flooding and sewer backups, most notably involving properties on 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th streets in West Jeannette, according to city officials.

Heavy downpours in July 2019 forced sewage and water up through the drains in the basements of some homes and caused appliances and personal items to be destroyed.

That flooding prompted the county authority to formulate a remediation plan under a consent decree signed a decade ago with DEP.

Authority board members on Wednesday approved an additional $225,425 in engineering fees for the project.

MAWC leaders also announced that administrators this month finalized refinancing of more than $150 million in debt borrowed in 2016. The financial maneuver is expected to save $10 million that will be used to offset debt payments in the next two fiscal years, said Brian Hohman, MAWC’s business manager.