PSD says state road workers damaged sewer line

CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County public service district is suing over claims a sewer line was damaged by a contractor widening a highway.

Kanawha Public Service District filed a lawsuit Sept. 29 in Kanawha Circuit Court against West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways, citing negligence.

According to the complaint, district personnel reported to the sanitary sewer collection line near the Cheylan Bridge due to odor complaints Aug. 31, 2012, and found raw wastewater flowing out of the sewer line and into the Kanawha River.

The complaint states that after further inspection, it was discovered that the sewer line was damaged by an unknown contractor working for the defendant to widen U.S. 60. The defendant is accused of negligence, and the plaintiff says it does not have the funds to permanently repair or replace the sewer line.

The district seeks compensatory damages to replace or repair the sewer line, interest and attorney fees.

It is represented by attorney H. Wyatt Hanna III of South Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. "Duke" Bloom.

Kanawha County Court case number: 14-C-1773