A seller in Upper St. Clair calls Public Works two weeks before her closing date to schedule "the dye test." She has heard about it from a neighbor, read about it on the township website, and figures it is one box to check off before the moving truck arrives. The person on the phone asks a follow up question she was not expecting: has she already had her sewer lateral video inspected?
She has not. What she thought was one requirement is actually two, run by two different kinds of professionals, on two different expiration clocks, and now she is finding out about the second one with less runway than she wanted.
This mix-up is common enough that it is worth walking through carefully, because the fix is not complicated. It just requires knowing, before you list, that Upper St. Clair asks sellers to clear two separate hurdles, not one, and that the order in which you clear them can change how much breathing room you have before closing.
Two Ordinances, Not One
The confusion starts because both requirements involve a sewer line and both get lumped together under the general heading of "the dye test." They are actually governed by two separate pieces of township legislation, adopted nearly two decades apart.
The older one is the Dye Test Ordinance, adopted in December 1998 as part of a consent order with the state. It requires a registered plumber to introduce dye into the home's plumbing and confirm that stormwater and roof drainage are not illegally tied into the sanitary sewer line. This is the test most sellers have heard of, because it is also required in several neighboring South Hills communities.
The newer one is the Sanitary Sewer Lateral Inspection ordinance, adopted by the Board of Commissioners in September 2017 and effective January 1, 2018. It requires a NASSCO certified contractor to run a video camera through the private sewer lateral, the pipe that carries wastewater from the house to the township's main line, and document its physical condition. This inspection is triggered by two separate events: the sale of a property, or any home improvement project that requires both a township building permit and an Allegheny County plumbing permit.
Both are the seller's financial responsibility. Both need to be cleared before the township will sign off on a sale. And because they were written at different times to solve different problems, they behave differently once you actually schedule them.
What Each One Actually Checks
| Dye Test | Sewer Lateral Video Inspection | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing rule | Dye Test Ordinance, adopted 1998 | Sanitary Sewer Lateral Inspection ordinance, effective Jan. 1, 2018 |
| Who performs it | Registered plumber | NASSCO certified contractor |
| What it checks | Illegal stormwater or downspout connections into the sanitary sewer | Physical condition of the private lateral pipe itself |
| Cost to submit | $25 check payable to the township | Contractor's fee for the video inspection |
| How long it's valid | One year from the date performed | Three years from the date performed |
| Where it's filed | Township Tax Office | Township Public Works |
That difference in the last row, one year versus three, is the detail that changes how you should approach the whole process.
Why the Order Matters More Than the Checklist
If you treat both requirements as last minute tasks to knock out once you are under contract, you are working against the shorter of the two clocks and giving up an advantage the longer one offers.
The lateral video inspection holds its value for three years. That means if you had it done recently for a renovation permit, kitchen addition, or any other project that triggered the requirement, it may already satisfy the sale requirement with no additional cost or scheduling. It is worth a phone call to Public Works to check before assuming you need a new one.
The dye test does not offer that same runway. A test performed a year ago for a permit application has likely already expired by the time you are ready to list. Because the dye test also has to route through the Township Tax Office and then to Jordan Tax Service for final processing, and because that combined processing chain can take up to a month, timing it too close to your target closing date is where sellers lose the most calendar time.
The dye test form and $25 check go to the Public Works Building at 1751 McLaughlin Run Road, across from the township's three hole golf course. Processing can take up to 14 days at the township, then up to another 14 days at Jordan Tax Service, and the township asks that the completed form reach the Tax Office at least 14 days before closing. Call ahead, since the dye test itself needs to be requested at least 24 hours in advance.
Read that timeline again. In a worst case scenario, you are looking at nearly a month between requesting the form and having a compliance letter in hand, and that is before accounting for any repair work if the test fails. A seller who books the dye test the week they accept an offer is cutting it close. A seller who books it the week they decide to list is not.
The Paperwork Isn't Going Away
It would be reasonable to assume that a rule this granular, with a fee this small, might get quietly relaxed over time. The opposite is happening. Upper St. Clair entered a Phase II Consent Order and Agreement in 2021 alongside 82 other municipalities across the ALCOSAN service area, an agreement that sets compliance responsibilities and target dates running through 2026. The township's 2025 budget identified that year as the start of the most expensive phase of compliance, earmarking $6,375,000 for the required source reduction projects tied to that order, funded without new debt.
None of this is separate from what shows up on a resident's water bill. ALCOSAN raised its regional wastewater treatment rate seven percent in 2025, and the township set its own sewer fund multiplier at 1.64 for that year, producing a monthly rate of $13.69 plus $19.55 per 1,000 gallons of water, all billed through Jordan Tax Service, the same office that processes the compliance paperwork for a home sale. The infrastructure math and the closing paperwork run through the same system, which is a good sign that neither the fees nor the inspection requirements are trending toward loosening with a consent order still active through 2026.
What Happens If a Test Doesn't Pass
If the video inspection turns up a defect, the property owner is responsible for repairs to bring the lateral into compliance before the township issues its letter. If the dye test finds an illegal stormwater tie-in, that connection has to be corrected before the property can pass, and the repair or replacement has to be completed before the close of escrow, or before the deed is recorded if there is no escrow involved.
Either scenario is manageable with time. Neither is manageable with two weeks left before your closing date.
A Practical Sequence for Sellers
- Call Public Works before you list and ask whether a lateral video inspection has been performed on the property in the last three years. If one exists and is still valid, you may not need a new one.
- If you need a new lateral inspection, schedule it with a NASSCO certified contractor as early in your pre-listing prep as possible, since its three year window works in your favor no matter when in that window you eventually close.
- Hold off on the dye test until you have a realistic closing timeline, but build in at least a month of buffer given the combined township and Jordan Tax Service processing chain.
- If either test turns up a problem, get repair quotes immediately rather than waiting to see if a buyer's inspection raises the same issue later.
- Check your homeowner's insurance policy before you list, particularly if your home has a finished basement. Most policies do not automatically include coverage for sewer backup damage, and the township's own guidance flags this as worth addressing proactively rather than after an incident.
A Few Questions Sellers Ask
I had my lateral inspected two years ago for an addition permit. Does that count for my sale? It might. Since the video inspection is valid for three years from the date it was performed, one done for a prior permit could still satisfy the sale requirement. Confirm the exact date and outcome with Public Works before assuming either way.
My dye test passed when I pulled a permit a couple of years ago. Am I covered now? Almost certainly not. The dye test's validity window is only one year from the date it was performed, far shorter than the lateral inspection's three years, so a test done for a permit two years ago has already expired and will need to be redone before you list.
What if I am selling a home I have not lived in for years? The requirement applies to the sale itself, not your length of ownership. If you are unsure whether a prior test exists on file for the property, Public Works can tell you what the township has on record before you pay for a duplicate.
Getting the sequence right on two inspections you have never had to think about before is a small thing, but it is exactly the kind of small thing that turns into a delayed closing when nobody flags it early. If you are getting ready to list in Upper St. Clair and want a seller's checklist that accounts for this from day one, Wendy Weaver can walk you through it alongside a full pricing and marketing plan for your home, starting with an instant home valuation to see where your property stands today.
