Engineer to seek funds for salt storage

By Ed Runyan

The EPA originally wanted salt to be kept under roof by last year.

WARREN — Townships, cities and villages across Trumbull County need to meet an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandate that they begin to store their salt supplies under roof to prevent runoff into the environment.

That has led county Engineer David DeChristofaro to propose that the engineer’s office apply for federal funding to build storage facilities large enough to house salt for the entire county.

That idea and others will come up when DeChristofaro begins a series of meetings with townships, cities and villages in the coming weeks, he told county commissioners Tuesday. DeChristofaro took office Jan. 5.

DeChristofaro said he hopes U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Bainbridge Township, R-14th, will be able to help. LaTourette represents seven northern Trumbull townships, and Ryan represents the rest of the county.

By creating one storage location at the county engineer’s office, it would avoid having each township build a storage facility for their salt and ash mixtures, DeChristofaro said.

It might also save the townships and county money by buying in bulk, DeChristofaro said.

And it would make it easier for townships to access adequate supplies of salt. Some townships already have purchased salt from the county engineer’s office this year because they ran out, DeChristofaro added.

Most townships and the county engineer’s office keep their salt supplies outside, but the EPA has said that practice eventually will have to stop.

Mike Wilson, executive director of the Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District, said the EPA’s deadline for having the salt, slag and other similar materials under cover was the end of 2008. Some townships, such as Bazetta, have recently built storage facilities, he noted.

At this point, the EPA could begin assessing fines, but it has not done so yet, he said.

DeChristofaro said meetings with the townships, cities and villages will occur between Feb. 17 and early March.

Darlene St. George, Howland Township administrator, said that Howland has its own salt storage building but that DeChristofaro’s efforts to regionalize services and facilities makes sense because of several EPA mandates that will be coming into play in the coming months.

Another one affecting townships will dictate what townships are allowed to do with the waste generated by street sweepers and by equipment that cleans ditches, she said.

“Looking at it regionally is the best way to go,” she said.

runyan@vindy.com