LORCO Designated Recipient of Stimulus Funds to Complete $21M Sewer Project

Posted by Rural Water Alliance

Service Area(s): financial

Hard work does pay off.  Congratulations to the Lorain County Rural Wastewater District, its Executive Director, Fred Alspach, and its board of trustees for receiving a total of $18.1M in stimulus funds to be used to construct a sanitary sewer system in portions of rural Lorain County, Ohio.  Of the $18.1M, $5M is designated as grant funds, which will likely translate into considerable savings for the users of the system.  Dennis O'Toole, legal counsel to LORCO stated, "This award is testament to the vision, foresight and dedication of the entire LORCO organization.  Obviously, the state and federal authorities recognized the considerable merits of this project in making the award."  

LORCO's plan was among five local proposals that received money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and distributed by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The state agency yesterday published its list of 255 sanitary sewer projects and 69 drinking water projects in communities around Ohio under consideration for the money. The OEPA will have a public comment period through May 8 and the list could change, but right now the projects are set to receive the stimulus money, Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski said.

The Carlisle-Eaton Township sanitary sewer could receive $5 million, or almost a third of the projected costs of more than $18.19 million, according to the state figures.

Other Lorain County, Ohio projects up for funding are:

* Amherst's Cooper Foster Park and SR 58 sanitary sewer lining could receive $100,000, half the project cost.

* Wellington's Lincoln Street sanitary sewer replacement could get $255,225, half its cost.

* The North Kniffen Street sewer separation project in Greenwich could receive $104,000, half the project cost.

* Willard's Greenfield Elementary School could receive $2,000 toward its $4,000 tap-in fee to connect to Northern Ohio Rural Water.

"The idea that there has been money made available to make environmental and public health improvements and at the same time get people back to work and jumpstart the economy is totally a win-win," Korleski said.

The state regulators received hundreds of requests for money and used a number of criteria to evaluate those.

Most basic are two premises: Projects must help public health and the environment and they must be ready to proceed quickly, Korleski said.

For more information or to comment about the projects, visit www.epa.state.oh.us.

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