Subsidences outrage residents

HAZLE TWP. – What started as a meeting to address mine-subsidence insurance for the Drifton Estates area quickly turned into a forum at which residents expressed outrage, alleging government is not doing enough to ensure their safety.

“Someone should have checked that land and never allowed contractors to build homes on that land,” Robert Pecile, a Drifton Estates resident whose home was condemned after a recent subsidence, said Wednesday. “Someone has to be responsible for this. Our whole neighborhood isn’t worth anything.”

Wednesday’s meeting included representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Office of Surface Mining. More than 50 residents accused the agencies of making poor decisions when acting on plans to fill the mine subsidence that shook the community on April 12.

Earlier this month, a subsidence heavily damaged two homes and forced a section of Route 940 to be closed. In recent weeks, the Office of Surface Mining bid out two phases of the project, which involved backfilling the mine subsidence. Phase three will begin within the next two weeks, said Michael Kuhns, supervisory general engineer for the local Branch of Anthracite office in Wilkes-Barre.

“Our first step was to remove the threat of emergency in two phases of work which have already been done,” Kuhns said. “Next, we’ll begin the third phase of drilling bore holes to see how much space is underground to continue filling.”

“This is the second time a subsidence has happened in my whole life that I’ve lived in the Drifton Estates,” said Jeanine Laputka. “This is the only time I can say I am honestly afraid.”

Laputka and a few of her neighbors said all they are asking for is peace of mind.

“Drifton has a problem. And it needs to be taken care of,” Laputka said. “What happens if the voids (underground) are so large you can’t fill them?”

Laputka said even if she has subsidence insurance, it doesn’t ensure she will be safe.

“When you have flood insurance, you can bring your belongs to the attic (to be saved). But what happens if I wake up one morning and my house is in a hole? I can’t put all my stuff on the roof.”

Mine subsidence insurance representative Rick Thomas said the insurance program was set up in 1961, and covers only the building, including walls, floors, ceilings and the roof, and structures outside that are secured to the ground, such as a pool, shed or driveway.

“If a property is worth $100,000, we’ll do $10,000 as long as the damages don’t (exceed) the worth.”

Residents would be required to pay a $250 deductible, and Thomas said the insurance programs works in part with the DEP.

Dave Philbin, a mining engineer at the OSM Wilkes-Barre office, said a meeting will be held next week with a contractor about what work needs to be done for phase three, then bids will opened and work will begin immediately.

Dick Cochrane of PennDOT explained Route 940 will be closed for the next six weeks as construction continues. PennDOT will be bidding a job to contractors to secure the road on Friday, and work will begin Monday with a June 6 completion date, he said.

Mike Korb, of the state Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation office in Wilkes-Barre, said his agency has been overseeing the subsidence aftermath and continues to work closely with PennDOT and the OSM to ensure residents’ safety.

Other residents, such as Jack Burke, who has lived in Drifton for 22 years, said he’s concerned about the natural gas line hooked up to his house, as well as his sewer and water lines.

“I don’t want to move. I like my home, I like my neighborhood,” Burke said. “Mankind created this disaster. Find out what’s under there. It’s causing me too much stress.”

Another woman, who declined to give her name, said she’s heard the void under the Drifton Estates is nearly as big as five football fields.

“Get a camera and look down there. Find out what’s there, and fix it,” she said.