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Schiavoni proposes bonds to upgrade water and sewer systems
By Mark Kovac
COLUMBUS
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni has proposed seeking voters’ approval to borrow $1 billion in bonds to provide grants for communities to upgrade their sewer and water systems.
Schiavoni, of Boardman, D-33rd, introduced legislation this week, partially in response to ongoing water quality issues at Mill Creek MetroParks in Mahoning County.
Other Ohio cities are facing similar issues but don’t have the millions or billions of dollars needed to replace aging underground pipes or outdated treatment plants.
“These are all projects that need to be addressed,” Schiavoni said. “This would help move these projects forward. ... This is an investment that is needed now. We need to do these upgrades.”
Lakes Newport, Cohasset and Glacier in Mill Creek Park have been closed to recreational users since July 10, when county health officials identified elevated E. coli bacteria concentrations in Lake Newport water.
The E. coli tests followed a massive Lake Newport fish kill, which the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency attributed primarily to combined storm and sanitary sewer overflows from the Youngstown sewer system after heavy rains in late June.
City officials already have long-term plans for dealing with that and other sewer issues, with $147 million in projects outlined over a 20-year period. The third phase of that effort focuses on Mill Creek, with new infrastructure that would direct rain overflows to the Mahoning River.
Youngstown officials were in Columbus last month for a meeting with representatives from various state agencies, seeking funding to cover the costs of the improvements. They were told at the time that grants for such work likely would be limited.
Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally thanked Sen. Schiavoni for introducing the measure.
“It is clear that many cities across Ohio and the Midwest are going to need additional assistance from state and federal legislators to tackle the mounting costs of water and sewer infrastructure maintenance in the years ahead,” the mayor said.
The expense of wastewater infrastructure projects is illustrated by the $3 billion joint effort of 61 communities in three Cleveland area counties comprising the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to improve sewers and eliminate combined storm and sanitary sewer overflows to protect the Lake Erie drinking water supply.
Schiavoni has proposed issuing up to $100 million annually for 10 years to provide grants for water, wastewater and sewer improvements. The issue would have to be OK’d by voters, after which lawmakers would set criteria for how the funding would be distributed.
He cited a U.S. EPA assessment pinpointing $15.5 billion in wastewater and $12.2 billion in drinking water improvements needed statewide.
“It is not a unique situation in Youngstown,” Schiavoni said. “We have aging infrastructure underneath the ground that needs to be upgraded, that needs to be renovated.”
He added, “We’re talking about something that I think would be supported by both the environmental community as well as the business community. This would create jobs and also attract new businesses and residents to the state of Ohio.”
Schiavoni hopes to gain enough support to move the resolution to the March ballot. Separate bond legislation is being considered by Republican senators.
In last year’s primary, voters approved a similar state bond issue to provide nearly $1.9 billion for roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. The third renewal of the State Capital Improvement Program is providing up to $175 million-$200 million annually over a decade, with portions being used for water and wastewater systems.
The state is limited in how much debt it can take on — total payments toward principal and interest are capped at 5 percent of projected general revenue funds plus lottery proceeds annually.
Current debt service stands at about 3.19 percent, according to the state’s Office of Budget and Management. Adding the bonding from Schiavoni’s bill would put that total at about 3.4 percent.