A seller in Irwin Borough signs a purchase agreement, clears the buyer's home inspection, and starts packing boxes. Then a letter arrives from the Borough office, not the title company, asking to schedule a camera inspection of the sewer lateral before anyone can close. The buyer's inspector never touched this. Neither did the appraiser. It is a separate approval, run by a separate office, on a separate clock, and in Irwin it is not optional.
Most sellers only learn this exists once it is already sitting between them and their closing date. The requirement is real, it is specific to how Irwin's underground infrastructure was built, and it explains something about the borough that most listing descriptions never mention: a chunk of Irwin still runs on the same kind of sewer design that most of Western Pennsylvania phased out after World War II.
Two Approvals, Two Different Gatekeepers
A standard Pennsylvania home inspection covers the structure, the roof, the electrical panel, the furnace, the things a buyer's agent walks through room by room. It does not touch what happens underground between the house and the street.
Irwin Borough's own code closes that gap with a rule that has nothing to do with the buyer's contract contingencies. Under the borough's ordinance on certificates required for real estate transactions, it is unlawful to sell, convey, transfer, or even refinance or take out a home equity line of credit on a property connected to the borough's sanitary sewer system without first securing a certificate of compliance from the Borough. That last part catches people off guard. This is not just a closing-day requirement. It applies to refinances too, which means a homeowner who has no plans to sell can still trigger the same inspection just by pulling equity out of the house.
Why the Borough Checks and Not Just Your Plumber
The certificate does not come from a signature on a form. Irwin's code says the Borough determines compliance by physically inspecting the property, which includes televising the sewer connections, lines, and laterals running from the house to the borough main. A camera goes down the line and someone from the Borough watches the footage before anyone signs off.
That is a lot of scrutiny for what sounds like plumbing paperwork, and it only makes sense once you know what the borough is actually screening for.
Why Irwin Runs This Gate at All
Irwin's own municipal code, in the chapter covering sewer connections, defines two different kinds of sewer the Borough owns and maintains: a separate sanitary sewer, which by definition excludes stormwater and groundwater, and a combined sewer, which by definition carries sanitary waste together with whatever stormwater or groundwater finds its way in. The Borough is on record owning both types within its own limits.
That distinction is not a technicality. The Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority, the regional authority that treats wastewater for Irwin and several neighboring communities, names Irwin and Manor Borough specifically as the only two member municipalities that still own facilities permitted to discharge combined sewer flows into the regional system. Every other community in that authority's service area, which also includes North Irwin and parts of North Huntingdon, Penn, and Hempfield townships, runs on separate sanitary and storm lines. Irwin does not, at least not everywhere.
Combined sewers were the standard engineering approach across older Pennsylvania towns before separate storm and sanitary piping became the norm after the war. Irwin incorporated in 1864 and built out much of its infrastructure long before that shift. A widely cited statewide infrastructure review found Pennsylvania has more combined sewer overflow points than any other state, with roughly 1,608 outfalls spread across 39 counties, about 17 percent of the national total. Irwin's aging sections are part of that pattern, not an exception to it.
None of this means Irwin has a problem unique to itself. It means the borough is old enough, and was built early enough, that its plumbing infrastructure reflects choices made before anyone was thinking about a regional sewer authority. The certificate of compliance exists because the Borough would rather find a cross connection during a routine sale than during a wet spring.
What the Camera Is Actually Looking For
The regional authority's own rules spell out the target directly: dye testing exists to catch storm water conveyances, downspouts, area drains, and foundation drains that have been tied into a sanitary lateral instead of a storm line, along with any storm water or extraneous flow the testing turns up, which has to be fixed before the sale can close.
In practice, the things that tend to trip this inspection are ordinary and fixable:
- A downspout disconnected from the gutter and routed straight into a floor drain or cleanout that ties into the sanitary line
- A sump pump discharging into the sanitary lateral instead of outside the foundation
- An aging clay or cast iron lateral with a cracked joint that lets groundwater seep in, especially common in homes built before mid-century plumbing standards
None of these show up on a buyer's home inspection report. All of them show up on a camera run down the lateral.
The Clock Sellers Don't See Coming
Irwin's ordinance lays out a specific timeline once an application for a certificate of compliance is filed with the Borough Secretary or Code Enforcement Officer:
- The Code Enforcement Officer has 10 calendar days to physically inspect the property after a complete application comes in.
- If the property passes, the Borough issues the certificate within 48 hours.
- If it doesn't pass, the owner receives an itemized list of violations and 30 days to complete the repairs.
- Once repairs are done, the Borough reinspects within three working days.
- An owner who disagrees with a violation finding has 15 days to file a written appeal with Borough Council.
Run the math on a worst case. A failed inspection followed by 30 days of repair work followed by a reinspection can add well over a month to a transaction that was otherwise ready to close. A seller who waits until they are under contract to file this application is negotiating that delay against a buyer's own mortgage rate lock and moving timeline.
What This Means If You're Listing an Older Section of Irwin
A home a few blocks off Main Street, built in the early or mid-20th century, is more likely to sit on an older lateral than a home in a newer pocket of the borough. That doesn't mean it will fail. It means the odds of an unnoticed cross connection or a lateral joint that has shifted over decades are higher, and the certificate of compliance is the one part of the sale that will find it regardless of how well the house shows.
Irwin Borough's own forms page lists the paperwork by name: the Complete Lateral Dye Occupancy and No Lien Packet, and a separate Occupancy Inspection Checklist. Both are worth pulling and reviewing before a home ever goes on the market, not after an offer comes in.
The Slivka / Reilley Team builds this into the pre-listing conversation with Irwin sellers precisely because it is easy to miss and expensive to discover late. Getting the borough's sewer inspection scheduled before the sign goes in the yard means it never becomes the reason a closing date slips.
Common Questions From Irwin Sellers
Does this apply if I'm just refinancing, not selling? Yes. Irwin's ordinance covers sales, transfers, and any refinance or home equity line of credit secured against a property connected to the borough's sanitary sewer system.
How much does the inspection cost? Irwin Borough sets the application and inspection fee by council resolution, so the amount can change. Confirm the current fee directly with the Borough office before budgeting for it.
What if my lateral fails the camera inspection? The Borough sends an itemized list of what needs to be fixed and gives the owner 30 days to complete the repairs, followed by a reinspection within three working days once the work is done.
Can I appeal if I disagree with the findings? Yes. Owners have 15 days from the notice of noncompliance to file a written appeal with Borough Council.
If you're planning to sell or refinance in Irwin, the smartest move is finding out where your property stands before a buyer's timeline is riding on the answer. Get an Instant Home Valuation from the Slivka / Reilley Team and we'll walk you through exactly what Irwin Borough will expect before your closing date is set.
