Published: August 29, 2009 11:26 pm      

Agency wants pair evicted from trailer

EBENSBURG — The Cambria County Sewage Enforcement Agency is seeking to evict a man and woman from their recreational trailer – which has been converted into a permanent residence – in violation of sewage disposal and building regulations.

Jack A. Bowling and Donna F. Luke have allegedly failed to obtain the proper permits, the agency is contending.

The trailer is located in the 500 block of Foster Road in the Fallentimber area of White Township, according to the lawsuit filed in county court.

Judge Norman Krumenacker will hold a hearing Sept. 21 on the agency’s petition for a preliminary injunction barring Bowling and Luke from occupying the structure. Neither Bowling nor Luke could be reached for comment.

Unlike three other cases recently handled by the agency, there is no suggestion that Bowling and Luke have not met municipal requirements on religious grounds.

Krumenacker has had sheriff’s deputies padlock an Amish school and and its two outhouses and barred two Amish families from their homes in Barr and Blacklick townships. He ruled there are public health concerns with the sewage disposal not being handled according to state and municipal regulations.

The Amish are members of the ultraconservative Swartzentruber sect, who shun most modern ways.

Attorney William Barbin, the agency’s solicitor, said that the trailer is along Clearfield Creek in an area designated as a flood plain.

Continued use of the residence and sewage facilities could potentially cause pollution to the land and water of Clearfield Creek, Barbin said.

They allegedly did not perform any sewage testing or planning prior to moving the trailer onto the property. The township sent Bowling a letter in March 2007 about the violations. A month later, the sewage enforcement agency also notified him of conditions under which he could continue to occupy the trailer as a temporary camper.

Although Bowling subsequently agreed to comply with the requirements, he has failed to do so, Barbin alleged.