Jermyn nearly finished securing easements for Rushbrook Creek flood protection project

Jermyn is working to secure the final easements for its long-delayed, multimillion-dollar Rushbrook Creek flood-protection project.

With a deadline to finish work by the end of 2026, the flood project will span just under half a mile along Rushbrook Creek and will involve stabilizing stream banks, excavating channels, installing culverts and replacing five bridges. The project was first authorized in 1996, with former state Rep. Ed Staback securing funding for the work in the state’s capital budget following a flood.

Seven years later on Sept. 4, 2003, heavy rains and debris overwhelmed the creek, flooding homes and businesses and resulting in millions of dollars worth of damages.

With involvement at the local, county, state and federal levels, the project reached a major milestone in February 2021 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a construction permit that stipulated work must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026. The Army Corps of Engineers began designing the project in 2008, estimating at the time it would cost around $4 million.

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Rushbrook Creek is seen flowing from Madison Avenue in Jermyn Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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A bridge on Lincoln Avenue over Rushbrook Creek in Jermyn is closed to vehicles Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The Rushbrook Creek flood protection project involves replacing five bridgs. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Rushbrook Creek runs through a neighborhood parallel to Rushbrook Street in Jermyn near the on ramp to Route 6 Business (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Rushbrook Creek runs behind a house on Madison Avenue in Jermyn Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Rushbrook Creek runs along Rushbrook Street in Jermyn near the onramp to Route 6 Business Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Rushbrook Creek is seen flowing from Madison Avenue in Jermyn Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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To access the creek for construction, Jermyn began seeking 41 temporary and permanent easements from property owners along the creek in 2022. While most accepted the borough’s $100 offer, eight property owners did not, prompting Jermyn to take them to court in December 2022 over easements for 10 properties. The borough cited eminent domain in its court filings to gain access to the properties.

The temporary easements will be in place for construction equipment to enter and exit the work areas, and the permanent easements will be for permanent access to the flood wall for maintenance, as well as encompassing portions of the flood wall itself, Fitzgerald said.

The borough has since resolved easements with five of the eight property owners, said solicitor Brendan Fitzgerald. Four property owners accepted $1,000 for the easements, and the borough purchased a lot at 642 Lincoln Ave. for $11,000 in September, Fitzgerald said. There was previously a home on the Lincoln Avenue property, but it has since been demolished, leaving an empty lot, he said. Because the easement was essentially the entire property, the borough purchased it, Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald hopes to resolve the remaining easements by the end of the year.

Once the easements are complete, the borough will send them to the state so it could put the project out to bid and move forward with construction, said borough engineer Tony Grizzanti of KBA Engineering in Archbald.

Jermyn is also responsible for relocating items like utilities, fences, sheds and signs, Grizzanti said. The borough notified Pennsylvania American Water and UGI about relocating water and gas lines. Neither utility company will start relocation work until the project is ready to go, Grizzanti said, explaining there aren’t major relocations but rather shifting the utilities a bit.

“We may have to loop under stuff, so it’s not relocating them across the street or two blocks away,” he said.

To pay for easements and relocations, Jermyn had received a $385,000 grant in 2014 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, but the funding expired in 2021 after years of extensions.

To make up for that lost funding, borough council passed a resolution last week to apply for $273,940 in Local Share Account funding to pay for engineering, relocations and engineering for permanent easements, Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald credited state Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-112, Blakely, with helping the borough pursue grants for the project.

At the state level, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is working alongside Jermyn officials to ensure they secure all necessary land acquisitions, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said in an email.

The DEP has received all necessary permits for construction, including under the federal Clean Water Act with the Department of the Army, a Pennsylvania Chapter 105 water obstruction and encroachment permit, and a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation highway occupancy permit, Connolly said.

The DEP’s Waterways and Wetlands program is finalizing a geo-technical report on the project, and once that report is complete, the flood project can be sent to the state Department of General Services to put it out for bid, Connolly said.

There is no timeline as to when work will begin, she said.

“We will provide updates as the process continues,” Connolly said.

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