Breinigsville Residents Fear Sinkhole Near Gasline

To repair damage from sinkholes that opened up in her yard, Karen Eveland had to have a construction crew excavate an area the size of a bedroom.

"People thought I was putting in a pool," said Eveland, a resident of Mayfair Court in the new development in . 

But Eveland and a neighbor, Izzy Marrone, fear the more immediate concern is that a sinkhole has started in front of Marrone's home next to an access port to a natural gas line.   

"I think it's a public safety hazard," Marrone told township supervisors at Thursday night's meeting. He said the UGI gas company had sent an inspector and a representative from Keystone Consulting Engineers came out to look at it.

"There's some dispute right now whether , who is the builder, is responsible or whether the township is and I just wanted to make it public and bring it out there because I think there will be some further disputes about this," Marrone said.  

Immediate efforts to reach someone at Pulte Homes in Trevose for comment were unsuccessful.

Township Engineer Dean Haas told supervisors: "Our inspector has been working with UGI and Pulte to try to resolve this. It falls exactly on the right of way line."  

Haas said that as for the sinkhole in Eveland's yard, it's on private property so that makes it the responsibility of the homeowner. 

Township officials suggested Eveland might want to retain a lawyer to deal with Pulte. The development is a little over a year old and the builder has not yet turned over the street to the township so what happens on the street is still the builder's responsibility, they said.  

Haas said there was a karst study done in the area and it was recognised as being a significant limestone tract. With karst topography, underground limestone caverns are carved out by groundwater, which can lead to sinkholes. 

Eveland said the sinkholes started opening up last August and there are now holes in four adjoining yards. Her repairs have cost about $100,000, she said.

"We have a couple of things that we're trying to get straightened out with Pulte so we'll add this," said Supervisor Kathy Rader.