Residents say this drain pipe causes flooding on their properties. Who’s responsible for clearing it?

Beavers are causing quite a bit of trouble in the Tyrone area.

The beavers are busy at work building dams along Bald Eagle Creek in Snyder Township, Blair County. However, the resulting debris clogs a nearby drain pipe, which has caused flooding on several properties over the years.

And residents in the area aren’t happy with how the problem is being addressed.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has broken up the dams multiple times, but Nichole Kibler, who lives on South Eagle Valley Road, said the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad is responsible for clearing the pipe.

“Our personnel have unblocked this pipe many times. There has been an ongoing concern with beavers in the area, creating debris that affects drainage,” said Loni Briner, public relations and media manager for North Shore Railroad Company and Affiliates. “We are currently working with the game commission and local government (including state senators and state representatives) to resolve the situation.”

She said more information on the railroad’s efforts will be available toward the end of the week.

“Now let me tell you something, that railroad has more than enough damn money to take care of that pipe,” Kibler said.

The amount of rainfall in the region over the weekend has only made things worse.

Kibler’s backyard was covered in about 3-4 feet of water on Sunday. She said the flooding can’t be “blamed on just the rain this weekend.” It’s been an issue for several years.

Ron Boyles, who lives across the street, said he has flooding in his basement and all his farmland is under water because of the clogged drain pipe.

“If it’s maintained, it’s not a problem, but all they have to do is maintain it,” Boyles said. “... And if they don’t want to fix it, just let us take care of it.”

Kibler said she’s talked to various railroad officials and the property manager, but the response has been “weeks ongoing.”

“When a train derails, they are there to fix it immediately, but we have three homes right now that are suffering immensely over one drain pipe that needs to be cleaned out,” she said.

Bert Einodshofer, a game commission supervisor for the south-central region, said these beaver dams have been there for about 20 years. The game commission has been out to the area several times since January, removing clogged debris and breaching the dam, which allows for the water to flow through, Einodshofer said.

It’s beaver trapping season, he said, but no one should take this beaver issue into their own hands. The game commission should always be alerted and it will try to resolve the problem, Einodshofer said.

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Residents say this drain pipe causes flooding on their properties. Who’s responsible for clearing it?."