Stormwater-plan mandate discussed

Commissioners approved, then rescinded, a stormwater fee of 15 to 30 last year.
WARREN -- An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official threatened to levy sanctions against Trumbull County if officials don't begin to meet requirements of a 2003 stormwater plan.
But County Commissioner Dan Polivka argued the cost of carrying out the plan is too high.
Chris Moody, environmental specialist with the EPA's Twinsburg office, called the meeting Tuesday in the county commissioners' meeting room to remind officials that the deadline in the plan is March 2008 for the county to meet certain stormwater requirements, such as public education and identifying and eliminating sources of stormwater contamination.
Moody said he has a great deal of discretion in consultation with EPA officials in Columbus on what sanctions to give.
The primary reason Trumbull needs to meet the requirements is because of the high number of failed septic systems in the county that are allowing waste to pollute the state streams, Moody added.
Polivka asked Moody whether the EPA provides any funding to pay for the plan, and Moody said no.
What happened
County commissioners approved a fee to create a stormwater utility to pay for staff to handle the stormwater issues Aug. 3, 2006.
The fee would have been charged to the cities of Cortland, Girard, Hubbard, Niles and Newton Falls; village of McDonald; and the townships of Bazetta, Brookfield, Champion, Howland, Hubbard, Liberty, Newton, Vienna and Warren. It would have cost 15 (cities and village) to 30 (townships) per homeowner per year.
Commissioners Paul Heltzel and Polivka rescinded the measure Aug. 27, saying they decided to take more time to study the issue.
"The economy of Trumbull County is very bland," Polivka said. "We felt the fees were exorbitant. I feel we need to look in another direction," Polivka said.
Who's responsible?
He added he thinks County Engineer John Latell should be the one responsible for carrying out the plan, as it is done in many other counties.
Randy Smith, Latell's deputy engineer, was invited to the meeting but did not attend.
Smith said later he was advised the meeting pertained to illicit discharges, which he said are not the responsibility of the county engineer's office.
He said there have been questions raised in recent years about whether such issues were the engineer's responsibility, but the questions have never been answered. Smith said he is open to meeting with the commissioners to talk about it.