RESOLUTION NO 2 OF 2025

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOROUGH OF BOLIVAR, COUNTY OF WESTMORELAND, AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA REQUESTING STORM WATER ON STATE HIGHWAY LAW ASSISTANCE

Be it RESOLVED, that the Borough of Bolivar of Westmoreland County hereby asks for your assistance in changing the Pennsylvania State Highway Law to require that PennDot maintain all surface and subsurface drainage facilities connected with the state highways within boroughs.  Currently, the burden of maintaining surface and subsurface drainage facilities on state highways falls directly on boroughs, even though the surface of state highways is maintained by PennDot.  While our borough understands our responsibility to maintain the stormwater facilities on our locally owned roads, we believe that PennDot hold the responsibility to do the same for their roads.  These projects are oftentimes extremely costly to local taxpayers and PennDot has far more resources and expertise when it comes to completing these projects than municipal governments.

The State Highway Law gives the discretion of maintaining these facilities solely to the Secretary of Transportation.  PennDot has applied the Curb-to-Curb Maintenance Policy which abdicates any responsibility to maintain stormwater facilities on state-maintained highways.  Conversely, PennDot’s policy towards Second Class Townships is much more laxed when it comes to maintaining the stormwater facilities in townships.  In fact, there have been examples where PennDot has performed the maintenance of stormwater facilities in Second-Class Townships but refused to do similar work to state highway stormeat4er facilities in Boroughs.

The Bolivar Borough, of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania asks that you support legislation such as Senate Bill 359 and House Bill 1204, which would require PennDot to maintain the stormwater infrastructure on our locally owned roads.  Please voice your support of this proposal to your respective Transportation Chairs and colleagues to bring these bills up for a vote.

Thank you for your consideration.

IN WHITMESS THEREOF, I affix my hand and attached the seal of the Borough of Bolivar this ___6____day of __November__________2025

Bolivar Borough

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

___Patricia Betts       _____________                            __Lewis McLaughlin___________

Witness, Patricia Betts, Secretary                                  Lewis McLaughlin, President

                                                                                                Bolivar Borough Council