MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY

North Strabane Township Municipal Authority
1929B Route 519 South
Canonsburg, PA 15317

Phone: 724-745-7220
Fax:724-745-1471
E-mail:  info@nstma.com

General Information

The North Strabane Township Municipal Authority (NSTMA) provides sanitary sewer service to commercial and residential users in the township.  The NSTMA is located in the North Strabane Township Building.  Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

The NSTMA sanitary sewer system serves roughly 4100 customers in the Township.  The NSTMA sanitary sewer system consists of ten (10) pumping stations, one (1) 140,000 gallons per day sewage treatment plant and one hundred twenty-three (123) miles of sanitary sewers. This is an increase of seventy (75) miles of sewer since 1998.

As a customer of the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority, the number of gallons of water consumed by the premises determines your quarterly bill. The rate charged is $7.70/1000 gallons of water used.  The Pennsylvania American Water Company provides the NSTMA with a monthly reading of a building’s water use.  The NSTMA then uses this data to prepare your quarterly bill.  Users have been sent a notice regarding the NSTMA bringing the billing back in house in order to provide personalized service and direct response.  Residents will now have the opportunity to have their bill automatically deducted from their checking account.  Please call the NSTMA office for details.

Deduct Meters

Residents who have pools or regularly water their lawns may wish to install deduction meters at their residences.  These meters measure the amount of water used for non-sanitary sewage at the premises.  A certified plumbing contractor can install deduction meters.  The NSTMA prefers meters to have outside reading mechanisms in order to serve the customer without entry to the building. Also, the NSTMA needs to inspect the deduction meter prior to its being placed in operation. There is a nominal fee of $35.00/year to inspect the deduction meters.  Deduction meter inspections usually occur during the month of February.

Covering of Manholes is Prohibited

Residents are not permitted to cover sewer manholes for any reason whatsoever.  In the event of an emergency, or during regular maintenance checks, the NSTMA or its designated contractor must be able to access manholes at all times. Manholes may not be covered with dirt, fences, plants, planters, rock, etc.…

If a manhole on your property is currently covered, it is the responsibility of the property owner to uncover it immediately.

Upcoming Projects

Linden Creek Interceptor
This proposed project will provide sewer service immediately upon completion to the Linden and Gambles areas.  The proposed interceptor would also be capable of supporting additional future growth to all areas adjacent to the Little Chartiers Creek. 

The proposed interceptor sewer will begin at the Route 19 Pump Station and extend along the Little Chartiers Creek to the community of Gambles with a branch of the sewer line to extend into the Linden area.  The entire project is estimated to be 37,700 linear feet, including eighteen (18) residences in Linden, an elementary school, and fifty-four (54) residences in Gambles. This project is  expected to start sometime in 2007.

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A SEWAGE BACKUP-  If your property has suffered a sewage backup, please use the following guidelines:

1.     If the extent of the damage is beyond your ability to clean and disinfect, we suggest that you call a restoration company. These firms can be located in the Yellow Pages under “Fire & Water Damage Restoration”.  The homeowner is responsible for the cost of the restoration, which can then be included with an appropriate claim for    damages.

2.     NOTIFY YOUR HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE CARRIER.
If you receive benefits from your homeowner’s policy, the amount of those benefits will be deducted from whatever reimbursement MAY be paid by the Authority’s carrier, if the authority is liable.

3.     Make an inventory of the items that were damaged,                         including approximate value.

4.     Take photographs of the damaged area and items.

5.     Call the Authority Manager to notify the manager of the claim.  The Manager or appropriate representative, will in turn notify the Authority’s insurance carrier to expedite the claim and to determine if the Authority is liable.

6.     Send a letter to the Authority Manager.   The letter should        include your name, property address, phone number, date of the loss, and the photos and list of damaged items.  If your homeowner’s insurance carrier has denied the claim, please include a copy of that denial.

7.     You may then be contacted by an insurance adjuster.

8.     You will receive written notification of the decision                           regarding liability of the claim.

9.     Do not discard any damaged property unless absolutely               necessary.

Please note that the Authority cannot represent that your claim will be paid by the insurance carrier. Municipal authorities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are covered by the Pennsylvania Tort Claims Act, which provides certain immunities from liability and provides specific statutory language that an Authority is liable for sewer damages only under the following specific limitation:

“A dangerous condition of the facilities of ...sewer....systems owned by the local agency and located within rights-of-ways, except that the claimant to recover must establish that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred and that the local agency had actual notice or could be reasonably charged with notice under the circumstances of the dangerous condition at a sufficient time prior to the event to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.”

Thus, in order to be liable for payment of damages, the Authority must have had reasonable notice IN SUFFICIENT TIME PRIOR TO THE EVENT (AND ALSO) that a dangerous condition existed in a particular area, and took no action to correct the dangerous condition.

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