Landscape Grade and Fill Permit
As spring arrives, many homeowners are beginning to think of
home improvement and landscaping projects. The Township
would like to advise property owners that there are permit
requirements for altering the topography of your property by
grading or excavating in excess of two feet in depth. These
requirements are in place to protect not only your property, but
also your neighbors, from possible erosion and landslides due
to improper grading or excavating activities.
Contact the Township:
The Township would also encourage all residents that see
excavation or filling in their neighborhood to contact the
Township offices to advise of such activity. This notice allows
the Township to search for active permits and visit unpermitted
sites to determine if a permit is necessary. Your notification to
the Township could prevent a very expensive and unnecessary
landslide or other geotechnical issues for the community.
Altering existing property contours: If you are considering any
type of alteration of the existing property contours, you may
be required to obtain a grade and fill permit from the Township
prior to commencing work. This permit will provide you with
the requirements for proper compaction and benching so that
the worksite remains stable. Often times work is completed
without the proper permitting which makes the homeowner
liable for any resulting issues. The combination of improper
site preparation, the composition of Western Pennsylvania
soil, and excessive rains can result in a very expensive and
often preventable landslide. If you are in doubt if a permit is
required for your work, please contact the Township Building
and Zoning Department at 412-486-9700 to inquire. It is also
suggested that if a permit is not required, the Township can
provide you with best practices to insure a stable and long-
lasting improvement.
Storm Sewers and Sanitary Sewers
They are Different
How many of you can say that you know where the water from
your sinks and toilets go to once it leaves your home? How many
of you know where all of that storm water goes to when it enters
the storm drains in your street or yard?
When water gets treated? When water does not?
Sanitary Sewers (this does not include homes on septic
systems). All of the wastewater (aka sewage) from your sinks,
toilets, showers, washing machines and dishwashers flows
through pipes throughout your home and leaves your house
through another pipe to the main sanitary sewer out into
the street or alley near your house. The wastewater flows
through the main sanitary sewer by gravity and by force from
lift stations towards the wastewater treatment plant. The
wastewater then gets processed at the treatment plant, and
clear, cleaner water is discharged out to the Ohio River after
meeting strict federal and state quality standards. Wastewater
treatment is through the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority.
Storm Sewers are the least understood. They can be a threat
to water quality because, unlike sanitary sewers, storm sewers
do not take storm water to a treatment plant. Once water
runoff from rain, snow melt, car washing, and even hosing
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shaler
down the driveway, enters the storm drain it travels through
the storm sewer to the end of the sewer pipe and discharges
typically to an open body of water like a lake, pond, river,
creek or stream. All of the pollutants that storm water picks
up off the ground as it flows into a storm drain remain in the
water and are discharged into the receiving water or structure,
adding pollution with ever runoff event.
Pollutants: Keeping pollutants like pet waste, cigarette butts,
fertilizers, litter and auto fluids out of storm water runoff and
out of storm drains is very important because as you know, it is
not treated at a treatment plant and ends up in our recreation
water and ultimately in our streams and rivers. Take an active
role in your daily activities and keep your water clean by using
the motto:
“Only rain down the drain!”