The Altoona Water Authority has been stymied in its attempt to get permission to construct a 12-inch water line that would serve the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, including its new residence hall, by easement issues with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry, over whose ground some of the line will run.

The authority has secured services agreements with the state Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates the home and the National Guard Readiness Center, but the bureau, to which the DMVA forwarded a proposed agreement, has proposed “convoluted” and “concerning” language that the Water Authority can’t accept, according to authority solicitor David Gaines.

The bureau has predicted that getting the matter “turned around” could take until the end of the year, Gaines said.

The language the bureau prefers would be more suitable for a road right-of-way issue than a simple water line easement, he said.

The bureau’s proposal is for “a square peg in a round hole,” Gaines said.

The project could go to bid as soon as the easement agreement is secured, Balliet said.

The state will reimburse the authority for the cost of the water line project.

The line has been designed for two years, according to authority general manager Mark Perry.

The proposed line will replace one of the smaller lines that feeds a tank above the vets home property, according to Jim Balliet of Gwin Dobson & Foreman, the authority’s consulting engineer.

Meanwhile, the home has adequate water service, Balliet said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.