WARREN — So far, Trumbull County has spent $67.2 million on sewer projects since the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency ordered the county to add sewer to certain areas, and an $49.8 million is expected to be spent on projects before 2030.

That will bring the total amount of sewer spending in the county since the original 2000 OEPA order to about $117 million. About $6.4 million is expected to be spent on projects this year, with $23.4 million expected to be spent on the projects before 2025, and $20 million before 2030.

Through 2020, 3,545 residences and businesses have been served by the projects, and by 2030, 5,242 residences and businesses will have been served, according to the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer’s Office.

The office generates an annual report to comply with the OEPA consent decree. The time frames are estimations, however, and do not guarantee the completion of the projects in the specified times, the report states.

Some of the bigger projects on the table are in Warren Township and Hubbard.

WHO PAYS FOR THIS?

About 50 percent of the construction costs to date, $33.7 million of the $67.2 million, have been paid for with various grant funds, Gary Newbrough, interim sanitary engineer, states in the report.

The grants came from various sources, including the OEPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund, Community Development Block Grants, the Ohio Public Works Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture / Rural Development Division, the federal EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Both the sanitary engineer’s department and the Trumbull County Planning Commission have obtained the funds for the projects. Loans with low interest or zero interest rates and bond funds coordinated through the Trumbull County Auditor’s Office have paid for about $29.2 million in funding.

CAPACITY ISSUES

Many of the projects send flow to waste treatment plants outside of the county’s own plants, using special agreements with the communities that own the treatment plants to outline the costs for the treatment of the sewage.

But the capacity of the local plants to take flow from future projects is uncertain, the report states.

“Entering into service area agreements for projects tributary to Hubbard city, Warren and Youngstown may be difficult. Negotiations may be hindered by available capacity and / or (infiltration of stormwater) problems at their respective plants,” Newbrough’s report states.

When stormwater drains into sewer systems, it can overwhelm a system or inflate the amount of water coming through the system for treatment, even though it doesn’t need to be treated. It can also raise the costs of treatment.

Some of the remaining projects linger because of the difficulty in planning them, making them financially viable or finding a cost-effective way to treat the flow of sewage, the report states.

Of the projects remaining, three phases of the $15 million Meadowbrook improvements in Warren Township are expected to be completed by 2024, creating 700 new connections. The $2.4 million Jacobs Road project in Hubbard is expected to create 63 new connections in 2026.

On Rosser Avenue in Hubbard, 65 new connections are expected in 2026 for about $2.2 million.

The Jacobs Road and Rosser Avenue projects were delayed because the wastewater treatment plant in Hubbard informed the county it does not have the capacity to accept the flow from the projects, according to the report.

“Trumbull County needs to meet with Hubbard City officials to determine if they plan an upgrade of the (treatment plant) to increase capacity and if the county should participate in the cost of the upgrade,” Newbrough’s report states.

FINAL PROJECT

The final consent decree project expected to be completed in 2030 is the second phase of the Maplewood project in Hubbard, where 500 new connections will be made for $20 million. The flow from this project also will have to go to the Hubbard plant, Nerwbrough’s report states.

Eight sewer petition projects are expected to be completed in 2023, at a cost of $10.2 million, in Brookfield, Weathersfield, Champion, Vienna, Howland and Bazetta.

Newbrough is requesting to remove one project in Newton Township from the consent decree, due to “insurmountable difficulties.” Attempts were made to create a financially feasible project, but proposals have been rejected by the community that would treat the flow — Newton Falls — as too expensive of a subsidy for their residents to carry for the township connections.

But there may be a solution the village can implement.

“In 2020, Newton Falls officials contacted the (sanitary engineer’s office) and indicated they plan to construct the remaining phases on the Scott Street area. The (engineer’s office) provided the design drawing performed in-house to the village and pledged our support for the project. The village was successful in obtaining an OPWC grant of $875,000 in 2021 for the project. Hopefully, the village can formulate a plan to install this project in a way that is affordable to the benefited property owners,” Newbrough said.