‘It’s frustrating and expensive’: South Strabane residents upset over recent flooding

Sep 24, 2026 By Conner Goetz 4 min read

For over two hours Tuesday night, South Strabane residents expressed their frustration with township officials and frequent flooding, turning an otherwise routine meeting into an outpouring of public grief and support.

Supervisor Vice Chairman Jeff Bull – filling in for Chairman George Rowand who was out sick – set aside typical meeting formalities and opened the agenda for an extended public comment period regarding the two major floods that washed through the county earlier this month.

Steve Schultz questioned the board about what steps members are taking to resolve repeat flood issues within the township, saying that his electric company has had to regularly shovel out mud and debris from the shop floor.

“It’s frustrating and expensive,” he said.

Resident Lauren Perry-Harris asked whether the public works department had a set schedule for scoping publicly owned storm sewer pipes in order to determine their condition.

Bull said that while the department regularly works to clear the grates and entrances to the pipes, there is not a routine procedure to check the pipes’ internal condition.

According to resident Linda Rumbaugh, the township should have used $150,000 in previously allocated grant funding for stormwater drainage improvements instead of maintenance work at Driscoll Park.

Bull said he would look into how that funding was used, and whether it was originally allocated for stormwater projects.

Rudy Tutsias, who purchased a home in the township in 2022, said his residence has flooded five times in the past three years, causing his family significant financial loss and emotional damage, he said.

“My kids are now afraid every time it rains,” Tutsias said during an emotional testimony, adding that his family has been locked in a “constant battle” to feel safe in their home.

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta attended the meeting to update the board on ongoing efforts to secure emergency funding to repair a sizable sinkhole that opened up behind the South Strabane Fire Department’s station on Oak Spring Road during the storm on Sept. 12.

Interim Fire Chief Jason Brown, who took over from outgoing chief Jordan Cramer days before the Sept. 12 storm, said it has been a “trial by fire” so far during his tenure.

Bartolotta said she has reached out to state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley directly to ask for her assistance.

According to Bartolotta, a member of Shirley’s staff said that due to the station’s location on former mine land, it may be eligible for financial support through a program designed for mine remediation, although this status would require further verification.

Bartolotta said she would meet with Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess and a number of county officials on Wednesday morning to plan the next phase of local response to the two floods’ damage.

Bull said his family has also experienced damage from flooding within the township, “so I get it.”

He also extended gratitude to the township’s police, fire and public works employees who worked tirelessly throughout the month to assess flood damage.

Also at the meeting, the board declined to act on a proposed ordinance to regulate fossil fuel power generation within the township that had been tabled during its August meeting.

This ordinance is the last remaining piece of a trio of three ordinances designed to limit data center development in the area that attracted massive public interest and input throughout the spring and summer.

In August, the board discovered that several sections of the draft ordinance text had been omitted from the version it reviewed in July, and requested Solicitor Dennis Makel to address the issue before bringing it to a vote.

During the meeting on Tuesday, resident Cynthia Rossi made mention that while some sections of the text had been returned, others were still missing from the July draft.

Makel said the error was likely due to an unintended typographic error within his office’s staff, and that he takes full responsibility for the omission.