WARREN — County commissioners are expected this week to lobby the Ohio EPA to provide principal forgiveness for a Water Pollution Control Loan Fund for the $13.8 million Pendleton / Gilmer sanitary sewer project being designed for Warren Township.

Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough on Tuesday told commissioners obtaining $4 million in principal forgiveness on the loan for the 2025 program management plan is critical for the project to move forward.

“We will not be able to do this project without this principal forgiveness,” Newbrough said.

Trumbull County turned in four projects that could qualify for the principal forgiveness loan.

The other projects are Stateline Road Sanitary Sewer Improvements, which need $114,000; Smith Stewart Road Sanitary Sewer Improvements, which need $388,000; and Crain Drive Sanitary Sewer Improvements.

A draft of the Ohio EPA’s control loan fund management plan recommends the Stateline Road project receive the principal forgiveness.

Newbrough told commissioners that in each description of the county projects his office sent, he emphasized the county wanted the forgiveness to be provided for the Pendleton / Gilmer project, not the others.

The control loan fund only provides forgiveness to one project in each district in a project year.

A public hearing on the plan’s recommendation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Ohio EPA Central office in Columbus. Newbrough will attend the meeting to lobby for the Pendleton / Gilmer project.

He requested the commissioners to lobby state representatives, state senators and anyone in the Ohio EPA they know to reverse the proposed recommendation for the Stateline Road project and to provide it to the Pendleton / Gilmer project.

If the county receives the principal forgiveness for the Pendleton / Gilmer project, it then will apply for a 0% loan from the Ohio EPA to pay for the remaining $8.01 million needed to pay for the project.

Newbrough suggests getting the Pendelton / Gilmer started will lead to other sewer projects across Trumbull County that are scheduled to be done in later years.