York County officials had noted several violations at site of fatal trench collapse in Newberry Township

By MONICA VON DOBENECK, The Patriot-News

The red flags started to go up 20 months ago. 

    

That’s when county inspectors first found erosion-control problems with the stormwater drain project in northern York County where one man died and another was injured in a trench collapse last month. 

    

While there were no safety inspections during the time leading up to the fatal trench collapse in Newberry Township, the York County Conservation District had noted several problems with erosion control in the prior months. 

    

According to county records requested by The Patriot-News, inspectors had been out to the site seven times. Those inspections were to ensure runoff was not draining into Fishing Creek and eventually the Chesapeake Bay, and were unrelated to safety matters. 

    

Each inspection found some failure in the erosion controls, beginning in March 2009, when a county report says Eclipse Builders had failed to submit an erosion and sedimentation control plan. A plan was submitted in June 2010 and approved by the conservation district in July. 

    

Inspections afterward noted that earth disturbance activities “are in continued violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.” A review of the most recent report shows that most, but not all, conditions had been met, however. 

    

The property on Old Trail Road in Newberry Twp. is owned by Eclipse Builders Inc., whose president is Abhed Hbaiu. Hbaiu said the company was doing work on the 3.5-acre site to install stormwater drainage for possible future development. He owns a property next door with a small used-car dealership, but said there was no decision on the use for the land. 

    

Hbaiu said the state Department of Environmental Protection, which subcontracts the conservation district to do inspections, was particularly concerned about the site because it used to be a junk yard. 

    

“DEP and the conservation district just wanted to make sure the stuff was done according to plan,” he said. “It took 27 months just to get the permit ... They want to make sure no water was infiltrating into the ground and could end up in the stream ... The last time out, they were impressed with our progress.” 

    

York County spokesman Carl Lindquist would not say if it was unusual for inspectors to go out to an excavation site seven times. That depends on the size of the site, the potential to pollute, and the compliance of the excavators, he said. 

    

County inspectors were last out Dec. 12, two days before the collapse that killed Jory Raber III, 20, and injured Joshua Gimmel. At that time, the trench had not yet been dug, Lindquist said. 

    

Trench excavations are a leading cause of fatal workplace accidents like the one in Newberry Twp., according to statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

    

According to OSHA, 22 people died in trench cave-ins during 2009, 27 in 2008 and 30 in 2007. Those numbers are down over previous years. 

    

The hazard is severe enough for OSHA to place trenching on its “special emphasis” list. That means that OSHA employees should make an extra effort to inspect hazards responsible for a high number of workplace injuries. 

    

While OSHA is investigating the trench collapse in Newberry Twp., it could take up to six months to make a determination, according to Kevin Kilp of the agency’s Harrisburg office. OSHA can impose penalties for safety violations. Trenching operations “tend to begin and end quickly,” OSHA guidelines say. 

    

The excavator on the site was Raber’s father, Jory Raber II. 

    

Hbaiu said the elder Raber has many years experience in the excavating industry and knew what he was doing. 

    

“It was a freak accident,” Hbaiu said. “If I were to call it anything, that’s what I would call it. I know the father lost his son ... and an investigation isn’t going to bring the boy back or make the father feel any better about losing his son. Everybody just wishes this didn’t happen.” 

    

Newberry Twp. police and the York County District Attorney say there are no criminal charges pending. 

    

According to the OSHA website, the fatality rate for excavation work is 112 percent higher than the rate for general construction, and construction work is already among the most dangerous hazards in the workplace. 

    

For that reason, OSHA guidelines recommend unprogrammed inspections if OSHA personnel find out about trenching activities during the course of routine travel. Usually, OSHA conducts routine inspections only in the case of employee complaints, referrals from other agencies, or reports of imminent danger. 

    

According to OSHA guidelines: “Compliance with OSHA standards applicable to such operations is frequently bypassed because of economic pressures, a belief that compliance in unnecessary or an expectation that these short-term operations will go undetected.” 

    

Adhering to safety methods in trenching should include identifying the type of soil, paying attention to rainfall and other weather patterns, determining the proper slope for the sides and properly shoring up trenches. 

    

OSHA had not conducted any inspections at the Eclipse Builders website before the collapse, according to Kilp. The elder Raber could not be reached for comment, and Hbaiu said he didn’t know what the trench looked like before it collapsed. 

    

Hbaiu said no one cares what OSHA concludes. He said Newberry Twp. is a small community where everyone knows everyone, and people there are doing what they can to reach out to the Raber family. Fulton Bank and Members 1st Federal Credit Union are collecting money to benefit Raber’s fiancee and unborn child. 

    

“Everyone is just terribly sorry this happened,” Hbaiu said.