PPL ‘will not file’ petition to seek South Market Street; statement

SHENANDOAH – In a statement provided to the Sentinel Friday, PPL Electric Utilities said they have not filed, and will not file, a petition to take a Shenandoah street.

A PPL spokesperson provided the statement following multiple inquiries after the borough was notified earlier this year that “a utility” planned to file a vacation petition and a court filing listed South Market Street as “subject to [a] future street vacation petition.” It would have affected South Market Street from Laurel to Poplar and effectively render East Poplar Street a dead-end.

“We don’t intend to vacate or close any streets and therefore, we have not filed, and will not file, a petition with the borough,” the statement said. “As we progress, we will work collaboratively with the borough and other stakeholders on necessary permits and reporting.”

“PPL Electric is committed to providing easements to the property owners who need it to access their property,” the utility continued.

The court filing was an action to “quiet title” seeking small portions of land where the utility purchased and razed several properties in the neighborhood below Burger King.

“During remediation we discovered that certain pieces of the properties were never historically included in certain deed transfers,” the utility said. “As a result, PPL Electric had to file a ‘quiet title’ to own the land which will allow us to consolidate all the property in one deed.”

The land in question is a paved L-shaped area which was originally a common area for company homes, as well as a strip of land deeded to homes on Poplar Street but beyond the backyard fence lines.

Since May of 2018, when the Sentinel broke the story, the utility company has been investigating and remediating environmental impacts of the former Shenandoah manufactured gas facility at the present site of Burger King.

The utility company said in 2020 its efforts are to evaluate the “extent of impacts from coal tar, coal tar residues and oils in the soil, and groundwater at the site and in the immediate vicinity.” Coal tar was a byproduct created by the former facility, which heated coal to produce gas.

PPL said they are working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, in accordance with the state’s land recycling program, and they are “committed to public safety, the safety of our workers, and the protection of the environment.”

The post PPL ‘will not file’ petition to seek South Market Street; statement first appeared on The Shenandoah Sentinel .