Business sewer upgrades coming

Friday, August 25, 2006 The sanitary engineer suggested property owners sign a sewer petition. By ED RUNYAN VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF VIENNA — The Trumbull County Health Department mistakenly sent notices to about a half-dozen township businesses asking them to apply for a new type of sewage treatment permit. The business owners can ignore them for now, but by January 2008, the notices will be for real, Richard Curl, a health department inspector, told an audience of about 100 people Thursday night at Mathews High School. Curl said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has told him that pollutant discharge elimination permits for businesses that don't have sewers will be required for all unsewered businesses. He added the permits are the first step to "almost bizarre" new sewage requirements businesses will have to meet. The only good news, Curl said, is that he has been assured that affected businesses will get about three years from January 2008 before upgrades to their sewage treatment systems will be ordered. By that time, Curl said, he hopes a sewer line will be built to serve the central Vienna area so that their personal treatment systems will no longer be needed. "The real answer is going to be sanitary sewers," Curl added. Purpose of meeting Township trustees called the meeting after learning of the notices. Others who attended included state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th; Barb Ewing from U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan's office; and Gary Newbrough, county sanitary engineer. Newbrough said the first phase of the Little Squaw Creek Interceptor sewer line will run along state Route 193 from near Tibbetts-Wick Road north to the Vienna Township line, and four other phases will follow. He could not say how long it might take for the line to reach businesses on state Route 193 in Vienna, but he suggested one thing property owners could do to speed up the process — sign a sewer petition. In the petition process, property owners ask the county to fund a study to determine the costs associated with building a sewer line. At the point of a public hearing, property owners are told the costs, and at least 51 percent must agree on them for the project to move forward. Usually about 80 percent of the property owners must sign a petition for the county to fund the study, Newbrough added. Harwood said she and state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, unsuccessfully have tried to delay the implementation of new septic system regulations, but Republican Gov. Bob Taft has vetoed the measures. She added that when Ohio elects a new governor this year, the Legislature will probably try again to pass such legislation. Ewing said the federal government continues to toughen the Clean Water Act that it enacted in 1972, but it has continually reduced the funding needed to address its mandates. Nonetheless, Ryan has succeeded in getting funding for the Little Squaw Creek Interceptor, and he continues to try to obtain more money for it, she said. runyan@vindy.com