PRINTER'S NO. 824
No. 743 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY NOYE, MORRIS, ALLEN, HALUSKA, JAROLIN, BILLOW,
BOYES, YANDRISEVITS, BUNT, SCHULER, MRKONIC, STABACK, LEH,
TIGUE, MELIO, VEON, HESS, VROON, LANGTRY, TRELLO, LAUGHLIN,
GIGLIOTTI, RYBAK, CAWLEY, HOWLETT, McVERRY, STEIGHNER, DORR,
COLAFELLA, B. SMITH, FARGO, PHILLIPS, NAHILL, MOEHLMANN,
GANNON, DURHAM, HAGARTY, E. Z. TAYLOR, MOWERY, BELARDI,
SCHEETZ, D. W. SNYDER, JOHNSON, ANGSTADT, S. H. SMITH,
CIVERA, GEIST, BISHOP, BARLEY, RAYMOND, KENNEY, SEMMEL,
HECKLER AND G. SNYDER, MARCH 13, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MARCH 13, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
2 "An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
3 executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
4 Executive Department thereof and the administrative
5 departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
6 including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
7 Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
8 authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
9 departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
10 duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
11 officers, and of the several administrative departments,
12 boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
13 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
14 and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
15 certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
16 other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
17 and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the
18 number and compensation of the deputies and all other
19 assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and
20 commissions shall be determined," requiring the Department of
21 Transportation to repair damage to private lands occasioned
22 by changes in storm water drainage in relation to highway
23 projects.
24 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
25 hereby enacts as follows:
1 Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
2 as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding a
3 section to read:
4 Section 2015. Repair of Private Lands.--(a) It shall be the
5 duty of the Department of Transportation to perform, at the
6 direction of the county board of viewers, all necessary repairs
7 and actions to correct soil erosion and other storm water-
8 related damages to private lands caused by the permanent
9 diversion, alteration or modification of storm water courses in
10 connection with a department highway construction or renovation
11 project.
12 (b) An owner of private land who maintains that storm water
13 course diversions, alterations or modifications in connection
14 with a department highway construction or renovation project
15 have resulted in damage to such land may petition the court of
16 common pleas to direct the county board of viewers to review and
17 render a decision regarding department liability in the matter.
18 The petition shall state the basis for the claim, describing in
19 detail the damages caused by the diverted, altered or modified
20 storm water course and how such diversion, alteration or
21 modification led to such damage. The date of completion of the
22 project involved plus a description of the experience of the
23 landowner, or predecessor in title, with regard to the storm
24 water course prior to the diversion, alteration or modification
25 shall be included in the petition. The petition shall also
26 include such other information as the court by local rule may
27 prescribe and shall be accompanied by a filing fee of one
28 hundred dollars ($100), which shall be refunded should the board
29 of viewers rule in the petitioner's favor. The court, if
30 satisfied that the petition has been filed in accordance
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1 herewith, shall, within thirty days of receipt thereof, order
2 the board of viewers to review and render a decision on the
3 matter. The court shall notify both the petitioner and the
4 department of such an order immediately after its issuance.
5 (c) Upon receipt of the court order, the board of viewers
6 shall render a decision on departmental liability within six
7 months. Both parties shall be afforded the right to offer such
8 testimony and information to the board as may be proper to
9 support their respective positions. The board decision shall be
10 final, shall be in writing and shall contain the rationale for
11 the holding. The decision shall be filed with the court and a
12 certified copy thereof filed with the department. Upon receipt
13 of the decision, the court shall immediately discharge the board
14 of viewers from further consideration of the matter. The
15 department, upon receipt of its copy of the decision, shall
16 perform the necessary repairs outlined therein. All costs
17 incurred by the court and the board of viewers during the course
18 of this procedure shall be borne by the department.
19 (d) As used in this section:
20 "County board of viewers" means the board established in each
21 county under Subchapter E of Chapter 21 of Title 42 of the
22 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (relating to boards of
23 viewers).
24 "Necessary repairs and actions" means not only the correction
25 of damages to private lands but also such corrections to the
26 diverted, altered or modified storm water course as are required
27 to prevent such damages from recurring.
28 "Storm water" means drainage runoff from the surface of the
29 land resulting from precipitation, snow or ice melt.
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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