Saturday, July 26, 2014
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Three or four Trumbull County property owners will receive new septic systems in the coming months through an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency program that pays 85 percent to 100 percent of the cost.
The county commissioners recently authorized action to send out letters to 41 Trumbull County licensed septic-system installers to get price proposals for the systems.
When the three to four are complete, the county will have helped 66 to 67 county homeowners replace their failed septic systems with money from three funding sources, said Julie M. Green, county grants manager.
Of the 63 septic systems replaced so far, the total cost has been $1,111,295, with the two funding sources paying $818,360 of it and the property owners paying the other $158,135.
The funding source being used now, the Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Principal Forgiveness Program, has not been funded since the end of 2012, but the Ohio EPA is “talking about continuing the program in the future,” Green said.
The Ohio EPA program money helped replace 13 septic systems in 2012. That funding source and money from a U.S. EPA special-appropriation program were used during 2013 to complete 17 more septic-system replacements.
The Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Principal Forgiveness Program helped pay for eight septic-system replacements so far in 2014, according to a spreadsheet provided by the county.
The county first started using money from the Ohio EPA program and the federal stimulus program, called the American Recovery and Stimulus Act, in 2010 to provide most of the money to replace 25 septic systems.
The average cost of the septic replacements has been about $15,000, Green said. The highest cost was $30,000, the lowest cost was $3,249. The people who received the assistance were approved based on their income, Green said.
Among the companies that have installed the systems are King Brothers, Jardine Builders, Digging Dirt LLC, Yoho’s Action Septic, Williams Excavating and Z-Tech Builders.
The three or four homes that will receive septic systems in the coming months already have been identified through the income-qualification progress, Green said.
There are likely to be four or five more septic replacements carried out in 2015 with $85,163 available through the U.S. EPA special-appropriation. Green submitted the application for the $85,163 Thursday.
The individuals who will be approved for those funds are individuals who have court cases initiated by the county health board for failed septic systems, Green said.
The 63 septic systems replaced since 2010 have been from townships throughout the county, according to the spreadsheet.