STEUBENVILLE - Work officially began Tuesday on the $2.3 million Pottery Addition sewer project as county, state and local officials held a groundbreaking ceremony.

The county is under an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandate to install the sewers because of a faulty community septic system that is allowing raw sewage to be dumped into the Ohio River.

The county received $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding obtained through the Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission, $150,000 from the Ohio Public Works Commission, a $817,736 no-interest loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and $817,736 grant from the OEPA.

"This is a great day for Jefferson County and Pottery Addition," said Jefferson County Commissioner Thomas Graham. "The EPA did the right thing in mandating this project with raw sewage going into the river. That is unacceptable,"

Graham noted the EPA is forcing the county to do the project but also is proving a bulk of the financing.

Timothy Campbell, OEPA environmental manager with the Southeast District Office, said the state agency is "proud to provide financial assistance to protect human health, while saving Jefferson County $1.6 million over the life of the loan."

Pejmaan Fallah, OEPA division of environmental and financial assistance, said the state agency is there to offer a "spirit of partnership."

"The problems facing Jefferson County is also our problems," Fallah said.

Tom Hartwig of Malcolm Pirnie, the county's consulting engineer for the project, said Pottery Addition was a long-term pollution problem for people using the Ohio River. He said the OEPA made the project affordable to residents.

Residents will have to pay $3,300 to tap into the sewer system, plus the cost of connecting homes to the sewers.

The county has reached an agreement with Steubenville to treat the sewage.

Domenick Mucci, Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission executive director, said Pottery Addition is one area of the county being eyed for economic development. He said about 18 residents will receive financial assistance to pay for the tap-in fee using CDBG funds.

County Commissioner David Maple said the mandated project is the right thing to do for the area and for the environment. Maple noted the collaboration of many agencies on the project, including Steubenville.

County Commissioner Tom Gentile thanked the work of Shannan Gosbin, county water and sewer department director, and her staff.

"Projects like this just don't fall out of a tree. It takes a lot of hard work," Gentile said.

Gentile also noted the Pottery Addition area is ready for commercial and industrial development but the lack of sewers has hampered efforts.

He said the county will work to attract businesses to the Pottery Addition area and also will work with the Island Creek Township trustees in cleaning up unkempt properties.

Walt Cramer, a Pottery Addition resident, said he thinks the project is great for the area.

"I'm in favor of the project. It has been needed for years," he said.

(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)

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Sewer project under way

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Marco Island Police Chief Don Hunter makes an unprecedented public apology Monday before Marco Island City Council to Joey Olivario and his wife for a false arrest. Hunter said the city will clear up Joey Olivario's public records and thanked the couple for being understanding. Cheryl Ferrara / Eagle Correspondent

MARCO ISLAND — From the ashes of its Utility Advisory Board, Marco Island’s City Council is hoping a new Utility Advisory Committee will spring.

On Monday, council took its first step toward abolishing the existing advisory board by approving, 6-0, the first reading of it dissolution. Council’s action was precipitated by lack of participation on the advisory board. Only three members, Amadeo Petricca, David Rusmussen and William Porter were listed as active members.

The council immediately discussed and approved a resolution to create a seven-member Utilities Advisory Committee to perform many of the same tasks tackled by the advisory board. Councilor Joe Batte voted against the resolution that passed by a vote of 5-1. Council Chuck Kiester was not present at the meeting.

Members of the advisory board were told they could apply for appointment to the new committee if desired. Each council member is allowed to appoint one person to the committee.

Two public speakers, Ken Honecker, a past chairman of the advisory board, and Petricca addressed council during public comment and questioned utilities’ financial issues. Their comments drew response from some council members.

The new committee will serve at the pleasure of council and will perform other duties as determined. Council discussed directing the committee to review and make recommendations on water and sewer annual operating budgets, the utilities’ five-year capital plan and plant operations.

Public Speaker Steve Stefanides cautioned council that its approach to establishing in-house overview was a band-aid solution. He suggested that entities as large as the city’s water and sewer facilities deserved more deliberate management.

“We should have gone outside to manage it,” he said. “A referendum could establish a manager directly responsible to council and council alone.”

Stefanides praised the utility as being the heart of city assets now and going forward.

“We need some who can look 10 years, 15 years, 20 years down the road,” he said. “We’re going to have enough coming down the road that the manager needs to take care of. This is the time to run this as a business: Effectively and efficiently.”

Council Recker offered an alternate solution.

“Who wants another government employee that needs this and that and more money?” he asked. “Get bids from professional companies that manage utilities.”

In related business, councilors authorized the city manager to enter into a contract with Mitchell & Stark Construction Company for $9.3 million to install sewer facilities in the Estates Sewer District as part of the Septic Tank Replacement Program. Council decided not to interrupt the contract during the months of January, February and March known as in-season, so work will progress during that time.

Council also set workshop dates for discussions on the utilities’ Cost of Services report and revenue sufficiency study received from Burton & Associates. One workshop was originally scheduled for Monday, March 19, prior to council’s regularly scheduled meeting.

Additional workshops will be held at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 29, and 1 p.m. on March 14. All workshops will be held in the city’s Community Room, 51 Bald Eagle Drive.

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Marco Island’s City Council replaces utility advisory board with new utility committee

A working sewer system for the Granger business district should be in place by the end of July, 2012.

“Long term, it’s going to be good for Granger,” said Don Smessaert, President of the St. Joseph County Regional Water and Sewer District. “Right now, they either love us or they hate us, nobody is in the middle of the road.”

Just off to the side of the road on M-62 outside of Edwardsburg today, crews from Selge Construction were busy installing pipes.

“We are directionally drilling six inch HP pipe to Granger for the project, this is actually the end of the job where it dumps into the (Ontwa Township treatment) system,” said Jim Morgan, Foreman with Selge Construction.

A $2.5 million contract for work on the Granger sewer system was finalized last week. The time to criticize and debate has passed, while the time to build has arrived.

“Long term, I don’t think Granger could have survived on septic,” said Smessaert. “I mean, between the cost of the (septic) systems even now, they’re astronomical, it’s only going to get worse. This way we have a known cost and a reasonable treatment rate. You’ve got about 25 percent of the rate is the treatment rate; the rest of it is the debt service. 20 years, that goes away, it becomes affordable.”

In dealing with cost critics, the Granger sewer project has allegedly gone down a road that has never before been traveled.

Those in the Granger business district who have failing septic systems can hook into the sewer system right away: Those who still have working septic systems—don’t have to.

“It’s the first time a sewer district has done a install where it wasn’t 100 percent compelled to connect. The fact that functioning systems are allowed to continue to function and that the owner doesn’t have to sign up, never been done in Indiana before,” said Smessaert.

According to the St. Joseph County Health Department, about 60-sewer users filed requests to keep their septic systems. The list includes both homes and businesses. About 250-total potential sewer users are within the Granger district boundaries.

While the project price tag has been controversial, that should not be the case for the chosen construction method.

“After we’re gone you don’t even know we were there,” said Jim Morgan. People are glad to see us come because we’re not tearing up driveways, we’re not tearing up main streets of town, we can directional drill under everything.”

The use of directional drilling should be positive news for Granger businesses that suffered through the reconstruction of S.R. 23 last summer.

The sewer construction work should work its way to Granger in another two to four weeks—weather permitting.

The work is slated to be completed by the end of July.

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Work begins on Granger sewer system

KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO | Houses along the shore to the west of Southold's Town Beach.

A longer and more expensive permit application process for new construction, stricter enforcement, stiffer penalties and a hot line to report illicit discharging.

These are some of the code changes the town is pursuing to comply with new federal and state mandates aimed at improving water quality.

During an informational meeting at Town Hall Jan. 19 — ironically, during the peak of a heavy rainstorm — town engineer Jamie Richter presented proposed code amendments that are required to go into effect by March.

Under orders from both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Conservation, the town not only must act to improve quality in waters that fail to meet federal clean water standards, but must also record and report each plan developed and each step taken.

Although the town enacted its own stormwater management plan in 2003, in 2009 the DEC designated the town as a municipal separate storm sewer system operator, commonly known as MS4. The MS4 designation means the town must develop, implement and enforce a stormwater management program requiring developers to submit more stringent pollution prevention plans proposals to ensure building projects don’t contaminate wetlands.

A basic plan is required for single-family homes and residential subdivisions involving soil disturbances on one to five acres. A more detailed approach is required for more intense projects, such as commercial developments and roads. All must be approved by the DEC.

Supervisor Scott Russell said although stricter requirements for development plans will help improve water quality, he disagrees with some of the DEC’s mandates.

For example, the town is required to identify the cause of high bacteria counts in local waters. But if tests show animal droppings are contributing to the contamination of a body of water, the town can’t legally take corrective action.

“Hunting of deer and geese is regulated by the state, so while we’re required by the state to come up with a plan, we don’t have the authority to implement it,” Mr. Russell said.

Animal waste, as well as pet droppings and home septic systems, can all introduce coliform bacteria into surface waters. High bacterial counts result in the closing of shellfish beds.

Another challenge the town faces is financing stormwater mitigation projects. Many town roads end close to waterways and the pavement serves to channel runoff directly into the water. One proven solution is to remove the asphalt at the very end and install a drainage collection system that includes a vegetative buffer.

“It will become one of our biggest challenges over the next few years,” Mr. Russell said. He described road runoff as “one of our biggest threats and, from an expenditure point of view, it’s going to be very costly. People shouldn’t have any allusions.”

Last year, the town spent over $2 million for stormwater mitigation for about four roads, mostly on Fishers Island.

“We’ve been investing as much as we can without breaking the bank,” Mr. Russell said. “It’s a well-intended program on the state and federal level. The administration of it is what becomes a difficult process.”

jennifer@timesreview.com

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State, federal mandates force town to take steps to limit water pollution

STEUBENVILLE - Several water and sewer department matters were discussed by the Jefferson County commissioners Friday, including a groundbreaking for a sewer project and a contract to sell water to Chesapeake Exploration for the fracking of a gas well outside Richmond.

County Commissioner Thomas Graham announced a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Feb. 14 for the Pottery Addition sewer project.

Shannan Gosbin, county water and sewer department director, said 9,800 lineal feet of gravity sewer lines will be installed serving about 110 houses and businesses. No pump stations will have to be built.

The county has received $2.2 million in grants and loans for the project.

The county is under an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandate to install the sewers because of a faulty community septic system that is allowing raw sewage to be dumped into the Ohio River.

The county will be entering a contract with Steubenville to treat the sewage from the sewer system.

Commissioners also signed a contract with Chesapeake Exploration to sell water for a gas well on state Route 152 outside Richmond.

Gosbin said water will be sold at $7.50 per 1,000 gallons. She said millions of gallons of water are used during the fracking process at a gas well.

County Commissioner Tom Gentile said the contract is one-time deal, similar to the county entering a water contract with Hess Ohio Resources to supply water to one well site.

"This is a one-time deal for one well. It may not suggest what we'll do in the future," Gentile said of selling water for other wells.

The $7.50-per-1,000-gallon rate is the county's normal bulk-water rate.

Commissioners signed two contracts for the Crestview-Belvedere sewer project. Rudzik Excavating of Struthers was awarded a $6.4 million contract for the installation of sewers. Utility Contracting of Youngstown was awarded a $2.5 million contract for the construction of pump stations.

The county has obtained $4.4 million in U.S.Department of Agriculture grants and $5 million in low-interest loans for the project that will serve about 330 homes. The assessment cost will be $6,500, plus the cost of removing the old septic tank and connecting the house to the main sewer line.

The USDA informed the county in January the project will receive an additional $550,000 in loans and $884,000 in loans to cover the cost of the project.

Commissioners also:

Signed a resolution authorizing the county auditor's office to resell $6.4 million in 2004 general obligation bonds at a lower rate, which will save the county about $25,000 a year in repayments depending on the actual interest rate at the time the bonds are sold.

Requested an opinion from the county prosecutor's office about the county water and sewer department charging the Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority labor costs to install a water line to new hangars under construction at the county's airport. The water and sewer department submitted a proposal of $9,958 for materials and $6,241 for labor. Questions were raised if the county should have to pay the water and sewer department for work on county property.

Heard from Thomas Underwood of the Laborers' union concerning the lack of local workers being hired for work at gas wells in the county and on jobs to improve roads prior to the drilling of wells. He said the local Laborers' union has qualified workers with a variety of skills who can be used in the local gas drilling industry. The commissioners had approved a resolution urging the gas industry to hire local workers.

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Sewers, water top county meeting

06-01-2012 18:50 After our sewer connection was installed, the young assistant used a backhoe to cover it up and smooth out the yard.

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09-01-2012 21:49 Residents who live near 46th Street and Kessler Boulevard will soon be abandoning their antiquated septic systems to hook up to the city's sewer system. But that progress comes at a price.

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06-01-2012 03:19 Texas Pride Septic, Inc. 281-400-1822 http://www.yellowbook.com texas-pride-septic-fesjz8zzw-2816400919.flv

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