TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials await EPA time line on sewers

The cost to businesses could cause some to close, a county official said.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Within a few weeks, Trumbull County officials expect to receive a time line from the Ohio EPA dictating how quickly they will be required to build sewers to serve areas of the county with failing septic systems.
County officials estimated that installing sewers in the expanding list of "unsewered areas of concern" could cost in excess of $50 million. And that was before eight more areas were added to the list last month.
"It takes us two to three years to get the funding in place," for each project, said Sanitary Engineer Thomas Holloway. To do it more quickly would mean putting more of the expense onto residents.
Holloway estimates that it will take 20 to 30 years to bring sewer lines to all the areas on the EPA's list. If county officials deem the EPA's schedule unreasonable, the issue could wind up in court, he said.
"Trumbull County has a very real problem with inadequate sewage treatment from unsewered homes," said EPA spokesman Kara Allison. "It is a real health concern."
Recently added
Recent additions to the list of trouble areas include Drummond Avenue in Hubbard, the Heaton Chute area in Weathersfield, Thompson Clark Road in Bristol, Center Street West and Sunnyfield Acres in Champion, Plalan Lakes in Farmington, and a 650-home Maplewood section of Hubbard near state Route 62, said Frank Migliozzi, director of environmental health for Trumbull County.
The Ohio EPA added three areas after residents complained. The county health department offered the other areas for the list, he said.
"We need to do something in the interim for all those people with septic systems who are noncompliant," Holloway said.
At a meeting in Columbus last month, Holloway said he was told by EPA officials that businesses in the county are also coming under scrutiny. Many will have to either update septic systems or pursue sanitary sewers, he wrote in a memo to county commissioners.
"This is going to be very costly either way, which may cause businesses to close," he said. "It may also result in additional sewer projects beyond the list of unsewered areas of concern."
The health department has not taken action to force residents in areas of concern to upgrade septic systems because it will not eliminate the need for sewers, Migliozzi said. Most of the areas of concern are neighborhoods where properties are too small for effective septic systems.
"We order a $10,000 to $12,000 upgrade, and it is not going to appease anybody, especially the EPA," he said.
siff@vindy.com