Stimulus is godsend for some with septic-system problems

Photo by: Ed Runyan

Photo

FEDERAL HELP: Christopher Wargo, left, and his wife, Alissa, stand at the rear of their home on Pleasant Valley Road in Vienna Township. The small area of dirt in front of them is the only indication on their property that they even have a septic system. It empties into a ravine at the back of their property. The couple has been approved to receive federal stimulus money to replace the system, which didn’t meet regulations when the Wargos bought the house in 2005.

By Ed Runyan

Trumbull County was among those counties that received the top amount.

VIENNA — When Stephen and Alissa Wargo purchased their 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom home on Pleasant Valley Road in Vienna Township in late 2005, they knew it was a fixer-upper.

But they were happy to have a home of their own on nearly one acre in the country, a short distance from Pleasant Valley Church, Alissa’s church since her childhood in Hubbard.

“We bought a cement shell. There was no carpeting, no paint; just drywall. We upgraded it a lot just to make it livable,” Alissa said.

But while they went about fixing up the house, trouble brewed.

About six months after moving in, Alissa lost her job in the medical field. Her husband picked up as much work as possible to offset the loss of income.

“It was a huge pay cut,” she said.

Then there was the problem with their septic system.

In the contract they signed to buy the home, there was an addendum that committed the former owner to pay $25,000 to replace the septic system, apparently built with the house in 1947.

The estimate was $16,000 for a new system, which would include a square, concrete sand filter placed near the road to chlorinate and dechlorinate wastewater before it is released into the environment.

But the system was never installed because the former owner never released the money called for in the addendum, and the Wargos have never attempted to recover the money in court.

Alissa said she blames herself and her husband for not knowing more about septic systems when they bought the house.

“This was the first house we’d ever bought, so I had no idea the people were going to run with the money,” Alissa said.

As for Stephen, who grew up in Warren, he is angry that Trumbull County’s septic regulations changed around the time he bought his house.

The Wargos recently learned that they have qualified for a federal stimulus program run by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Department of Health and Trumbull County Planning Commission that will pay for a new septic system and requires them to pay back only 25 percent of the money to the county over time.

When Alissa learned from Julie Green, planning commission grants coordinator, that her application was among the first 15 that met the income and application guidelines and that they would probably get the money, she felt her prayers had been answered.

“I was sitting in Julie’s office in tears, so grateful,” she said.

A couple of years ago, after being declined for a low-interest septic loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Wargos considered walking away from the house, Alissa said.

“There were days when we sat out on our porch and thought, ‘Should we just walk away?’ We were so discouraged,” she said.

Green said the state had $5 million to give out statewide, and 49 counties and 12 cities and villages sought the funding.

Trumbull County was among eight counties that received the top amount — $170,000. Trumbull County commissioners will provide a 25 percent share, which the benefiting homeowners will have to repay to the county over time.

Mahoning County was also approved for $170,000, said Rick Setty, Mahoning’s director of environmental health. Setty said letters will go out soon to homeowners that qualify for the money so that they can apply.

Wes Vins, Columbiana County health commissioner, said Columbiana County was approved for $112,500, but the procedure for selecting recipients has not been established.

Green said Trumbull County’s money will help between 10 and 15 homeowners, depending on how much each system costs. The number of beneficiaries in Mahoning and Columbiana counties had not been determined.

Trumbull County needed the assistance as much as any county in Ohio, Green said, because of the high number of failed systems here.

Trumbull has about 26,000 septic systems, and roughly 75 percent of the ones checked when a home is purchased are out of compliance with Ohio regulations and need to be updated or replaced, said Frank Migliozzi, Trumbull County Health Department director of environmental health.

In 2003, when the health department tightened septic regulations because of pressure from the state, about 80 percent to 85 percent of such systems failed, Migliozzi said.

runyan@vindy.com

GETTING APPROVED

Details of how 15 homeowners were approved to receive stimulus money to pay 75 percent of the cost of replacing a septic system:

About 60 people were notified by the Trumbull County Health Department that they met some of the qualifications, such as having a failed system, as judged by the health department; and the homeowner had taken the step of finding out from the health department what type of system he or she needed.

The property owner had to have his or her property taxes paid or have an agreement in place with the county treasurer’s office to become paid up.

The property owner had to meet income requirements, such as having a family income of no more than 200 percent of the poverty guidelines. A family of four, for example, was eligible if its gross annual income was no more than $44,100.

Applicants were qualified on a first-come, first-served basis.

Source: Trumbull County Planning Commission