YOUNGSTOWN — The city of Youngstown and the state of Ohio approved modifications to an agreement on a high-priced wastewater improvement dispute, but the federal government needs until late June before it can agree to the changes.

In a status report filing with Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Ohio, attorneys for the parties wrote Tuesday that the proposed changes are “currently going through” the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice for final review.

“The parties believe that an additional extension of the stay until June 27 would provide sufficient time for the parties to finalize the approvals of the proposed consent decree amendment, to continue negotiations over the stipulated penalties motion as well as promote the interests of judicial economy.”

Boyko agreed Wednesday to the motion for an “extension of stay,” which permits the parties to finalize the agreement, until June 27. The judge also ordered the parties to submit a joint status report no later than June 20.

This is the third extension requested and approved in the case with the sides agreeing that a resolution is imminent.

The Tuesday joint filing stated Youngstown and Ohio have approved the modifications.

The filing doesn’t give any indication what the changes are, but at the center of the dispute is a requirement in a 2014 consent decree signed by the city to build a 100-million-gallon-per-day wet weather facility. That structure would be located near the city’s wastewater treatment plant and treat excess combined sewage during heavy rainstorms and then release the water.

In a March 15, 2024, motion by the city to reopen the consent decree, it insisted the facility mandated by the federal government is too large and expensive.

The project’s initial estimate was $62 million, but is now more than $240 million, according to a Nov. 12 amended motion to modify the consent decree filing from attorney Terrence S. Finn of the Roetzel & Andress law firm in Akron, which represents the city.

The city asked Boyko in that motion to permit the consent decree to be amended for the construction of a wet weather facility that could treat 80 million gallons of wastewater per day. The city hasn’t disclosed the cost of a smaller facility.

The federal government had previously rejected a reduction in the scope of the work.

The two sides — as well as the state of Ohio — filed a joint motion on Nov. 25 for a 90-day extension to modify the decree stating they “believe that they have reached an agreement in principle.” Boyko granted the motion a day later.

The two sides — and Ohio — then filed another motion for a 60-day extension on Feb. 25 “to finalize the resolution of the consent decree modification motion.” The judge granted that extension a day later. That extension was up next Monday.

On Tuesday, the attorneys for all parties asked for another 60-day extension to June 27, which Boyko again approved.

City council voted April 16 to permit the board of control to “accept the consent decree amendment” in the federal case involving the city, the U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA on “a mutually agreed upon amendment to the combined sewer system long term control plan, which incorporates a ‘revised implementation schedule’ that will replace and supersede” a section of the original plan.

The board of control on March 26 approved a $2,964,094 contract with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown for preliminary design work to analyze and develop control measures for the wet weather facility.

The design work will take a couple of years.

Federal officials say work to the wet weather facility was to start Feb. 7, 2022, and final design work was to be done by this past July 29.

A schedule attached with Finn’s Nov. 12 court filing shows the wet weather facility would be finished by Sept. 7, 2030.

Finn also wrote that the Ohio EPA approves of the city’s proposal to substitute the 100-million-gallon facility with an 80-million-gallon one.

The Department of Justice, which is representing the federal government in this case, on Nov. 12 repeated its demand for half of a $1,479,000 penalty from Youngstown to be paid to the federal EPA because the city “defaulted” on following through with federally mandated wastewater improvements. The penalty was first brought up in a Sept. 29, 2023, letter.

The city has refused to pay. The other half — $739,500 — could be sought by the Ohio EPA, which has declined to seek the penalty and has largely sided with Youngstown during the court proceedings.

In Tuesday’s filing, the parties wrote the city and the federal government “have exchanged correspondence regarding the United States’ stipulated penalties claim.”

PHASES

The federal EPA had originally ordered the city in 2002 to do $310 million worth of work, but it was negotiated down to $160 million in 2014 with the expectation it would be finished in 20 years.

The city has tried to get that price down further, but federal authorities have refused those requests, resulting in the reopened court case.

The schedule attached to Finn’s Nov. 12 filing has all of the work done by Oct. 1, 2035.

Also, the city insists in court filings and interviews that if Youngstown complied with the mandates now the cost would be about $380 million to $400 million — well over twice what it agreed to do 11 years ago.

The first phase was upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant that have been completed.

The initial construction estimate was $37.3 million, but the city said it cost $70 million.

That work helped reduce the sewer overflows that would be part of the wet weather facility project, the city’s court filing states.

The wet weather facility was supposed to be phase two of the work.

The city approved $4.8 million on March 15, 2024, for design work for what was supposed to be the third phase. That phase is an interceptor sewer project to keep wastewater from 13 lines from flowing into Mill Creek Park’s Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset.

Design work was supposed to start July 11, 2020, and construction was to begin April 5, 2024.

The city missed those deadlines, but plans a compressed schedule with that work finished by Oct. 16, 2032.

That phase was estimated to cost $47.7 million and will now cost $72.5 million to $87.2 million, according to city estimates.

The city’s board of control plans today to hire Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Inc. of Youngstown for $90,000 to serve as “construction manager at risk” for the first two of four phases of an interceptor sewer project.

Marucci & Gaffney will also serve as the contractor on the first two phases with the price to be negotiated, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works. The price is expected by the end of August, he said.

The first two phases are estimated to cost about $50 million though the city is looking to lower that amount.

In a separate proposal, the board of control today will vote to pay $15,100 to the Ohio EPA for a permit for the work.

The city hired MS Consultants last year for $4.8 million to design the interceptor. That work is finished — which designs about 90% of the project — with Marucci & Gaffney finishing the design and then doing the project.

Construction is expected to start early next year.

Shasho said Wednesday that this phase will finish a year ahead of schedule.