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Union Township road expected to be flooded until July

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A flood-prone road in Union Township is expected to remain underwater until July.

Heavy rain a week ago, coupled with water leaking from an abandoned coal mine, have created a small lake that covers a large section of Courtney Hill Road about a mile west of Route 88.

The state Department of Transportation is not responsible for the problem because it appears the water is mostly coming from an off-site area, PennDOT spokesman Jay Ofsanik said.

“There is not much PennDOT can do except wait for the water to recede and send someone in there to inspect the damages to the road,” Ofsanik said Monday.

The problem involving water leaving a coal waste pile in the area dates to when Mathies Mine was in operation decades ago. Mon-View Mining Co. purchased the mine, assumed liability, and then closed the mine in 2002.

The road also flooded in February, at which time a Monongahela police officer needed to be rescued by boat after he drove his police cruiser onto the road and was quickly surrounded by floodwater.

The state Department of Environmental Protection stepped in and threatened to seize Mon-View’s $2 million bond and hire a contractor to pump the water away from the road.

A neighbor said the pumps have shut off.

The DEP dispatched an official Monday to inspect the problem, said Neil Shader, the department’s press secretary in Harrisburg.

The inspection resulted in a decision by the DEP to install a temporary pump there to lower the water, Shader said. He said there was no timeline for installing the pump.

The DEP is investigating the cause of the flood. Previous flooding at the road was related to storms, Shader said.

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