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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Roadwork leaves pair with ‘unlivable’ house


Connie Sirchuk points toward the well that has dried up since the summer road construction along Nine Mile Road in Nine Mile Falls.  The Washington Department of Transportation says it is not responsible for removing the pile of boulders that was also left after the road construction was completed. 
 (Photos by Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)

Something stinks in Connie and Dave Sirchuk’s Nine Mile Falls front yard.

The smell emanates from the Sirchuks’ failed septic tank – a failure they blame on a recently completed Washington State Department of Transportation project to improve Highway 291 in front of their house and nearby Rutter Parkway.

In addition to losing the septic drain field, the Sirchuks’ well has dried up, possibly because of the roadwork.

“We called this Highway 292,” said Connie Sirchuk of the route private contractor Steelman-Duff blazed through her front yard as it hauled truckload after truckload of material between the old Rutter Parkway and its new alignment.

The contractor left behind a pile of boulders and other construction debris, heavily compacted soil and a disgruntled property owner, who said she trusted promises that the company would restore her yard to its former state.

“This house is unlivable. It’s against all the health codes,” she said.

Department of Transportation blasting may have damaged the well serving the Sirchuks’ home and business, Dave’s Guns, and the Nine Mile Store, said department spokesman Al Gilson. The Sirchuks and the store are now using a hose to get water from a neighbor’s well.

The department is working with them to replace the well, Gilson said.

Ken Olson, the state engineer on the Highway 291 project, said he’s been talking with property owners and the contractor to resolve the problems.

“We’ve been meeting with them quite often,” Olson said. “Hopefully, things will work out, but there are claims processes,” he said, adding that a claim hasn’t been filed.

“Legal action is not a good idea,” said Yong Yi, who owns the Nine Mile Store. “Legal costs – who pays for that? The taxpayer pays.”

When asked who is responsible for the Sirchuks’ lost drain field, Olson answered, “You’ve got me.”

“As far as the rocks, that’s between Dave and the contractor,” Olson said.

But Connie Sirchuk said the department should be able to help her when the situation involves a state project, and she said state officials promised her they would when she and her husband threatened to force the contractor off their property.

“We can’t have oversight on an agreement between a contractor and a private landowner,” Gilson said.

Disagreement over that deal is at the heart of the problem.

Nothing was in writing.

“It was just a verbal thing,” Connie Sirchuk said.

She said she and her husband agreed to let the contractor use their property in exchange for them filling an on-site gully. That way, they could plant grass on it and use it for their yard, she said.

But Connie Sirchuk said the contractor wanted to fill the gully with giant boulders, which isn’t what she had imagined.

The Sirchuks changed their minds about where they wanted the rocks, said Wayne Van Zante, of the Clarkston-based contractor Steelman-Duff.

“As far as the damages, I can’t say who’s responsible,” Van Zante said. “We’re trying to solve it peacefully.”

He added he couldn’t say much more at this time.

Meanwhile, both Connie Sirchuk and Yi worry about approaching winter and their lack of a well. Their hose system won’t work when temperatures drop below freezing.

“All we were trying to do was be helpful,” Connie Sirchuk said. “We had barbecues for the workers. We thought they would do what they said they would do.”