COAL TOWNSHIP - A Coal Township man says his home shook from recent blasting in a mountain area off Tioga Street and caused a long crack in his foundation.
Dale Wilk said he is concerned about the work being done to make way for a 12,000-square-foot garage on property owned by Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi, who operates V&G Construction from the site.
Wilk, whose home at 2004 Pulaski Ave. is located approximately 300 yards from the blasting area near Rock Cut Road, claims an explosion at about 12:50 p.m. Tuesday left an approximately four-foot crack in the foundation on the east side of his house. "I know that wasn't there before the blasting started," he said while pointing out the crack Wednesday to a newspaper photographer.
He said Tuesday's blast caused the inside of his house and the front porch to vibrate. He said another blast at about 12:25 p.m. Wednesday was not as strong and didn't cause any damage that he was aware of, but still caused his home to vibrate slightly.
In addition to potential future structural damage at his home, Wilk said he is upset that nobody from the company doing the blasting informed him when the explosions would occur.
Wilk said he was told by a neighbor and an official with the state Department of Environmental Protection that four or five blasts would occur in the area.
Wilk said Coal Township Code Enforcement Officer Chris Petrovich and DEP officials informed him Clausi has secured all the proper permits for the blasting and building project.
Contacted Wednesday afternoon, Clausi said he hired a subcontractor for the work. He said Wilk's complaint about the blasting was the only one he has heard.
Clausi said he is having the mountain cut down to road level so he can construct the new garage next to an existing large garage and storage area used in his construction business.