Construction of a home on Park Heights Boulevard in Penn Township was voluntarily shut down recently after the state Department of Environmental Protection conducted an investigation and found violations.   But the Penn Township commissioner who plans on purchasing the home that is being built on the property once it is complete said all of the violations are being taken care of and construction should resume again soon.   A tree knocked over when the driveway was being constructed in September fell into the stream - an unnamed tributary of Plum Creek - causing a blockage. Recent heavy rains caused the stream to overflow, cut a new path due to the blockage and flood the wetlands next to the property. Neighbors surrounding the 339 Park Heights Property were concerned and complained about the flooding.  Penn Township Commissioner Mike Johnson said the contractor, FVC Building and Development LLC, has already cleared the tree and branches from the stream.

"The contractor is cleaning up the creek really nice," Johnson said. "There were branches in there stopping the flow. Now it looks nice and the branches are gone. They are complying with DEP requirements."  Johnson doesn't own the property, but he does plan on purchasing it once the house is built.  The owners of the property are listed as Ronald Staub and Craig Smith. Staub did not return a call for comment.

On April 16, engineering tech Karen Ward with York County Conservation District was inspecting the area to evaluate stormwater runoff between driveways along Park Heights Boulevard around the site of the home construction.  Although the stormwater runoff issue was resolved, Ward asked that construction voluntarily stop because of "a number of erosion control and sediment control issues."  In a her three-page report, Ward noted there was no erosion control products and sediment control products plan as required by the state and asked that the contractor to provide one.  Ward also said in the report that best management practices were not being used. Large stockpiles were kept around the excavated basement were not being stabilized and there was fill placed directly on the stream bank.  While on site, Ward also saw dirt filled water being pumped from the excavated foundation into the stream.

Then, on April 24, Lisa Forney, an environmental protection compliance specialist with DEP, also investigated the construction site on Park Heights Boulevard.  In Forney's report, she found three violations: placing a fill in the floodway without a proper permit, failure to implement best management practices and failure to maintain best management practices, such as trenching the silt fence used to prevent erosion and sediment runoff from going into the stream. FVC could not be reached for comment.  Forney also noted in her report that trees were encroaching in the stream and needed to be removed within 14 days.  In addition to removing the trees, Johnson said, the contractor is working with Group Hanover engineering firm to get an erosion and sediment control plan done.

"It's unfortunate DEP had to get involved," Johnson said.