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Village holds second public hearing for wastewater treatment plant improvements

WELLSVILLE– The village held its second public hearing for the wastewater treatment plant improvements last week. The hearing explained the details of the project.

Alan Knapp, a program manager and community development specialist at Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, OMEGA, lead the public hearing. OMEGA helps to facilitate economic and community development through networking, education, planning, research and allocation of resources. Knapp read a packet detailing the specifics for the hearing.

To finish the project’s grant application the village needed to hold two public hearings. The first was held on Feb. 4 and explained the grants funding the project. The t second hearing was held before last week’s council meeting.

Jon Blair, project engineer and Dallis Dawson, of Dallis Dawson and Associates attended the meeting to explain the engineering behind the improvements. Blair and Dawson are working together on the project. Blair explained the project’s details during the hearing.

The improvements are for providing adequate and safe treatment of wastewater. The improvements are for complying with an Ohio EPA notice of violation and a U.S. District Court Consent Order.

The updates include a new primary clarifier and UV disinfection system.The plant’s current mechanical bar screen will also be retrofitted to include additional screens to filter the water and maintain reliable operation of the plant. The update is focusing on replacing outdated and or non-working equipment to ensure properly treated wastewater. The current treatment equipment has reached its useful life and replacement parts are no longer available due to the system’s age.

As previously reported, the village qualified for a $420,375 Community Development Block Grant, CDBG Residential Public Infrastructure Grant, RPIG. It is a 50/50 matching grant, requiring the village to provide half the project’s cost.

There are three sources of funding for the updates; the $420,375 CDBG RPIG, a $245,250 Governor’s Office of Appalachia, and a $175,125 Ohio Public Work Commission Small Governments Grant. The total estimated project cost is $840,750 which is also the total of the three grants.

Currently, the wastewater treatment plant is undergoing phase one, which is taking care of the oxidation towers and slug pumps. In phase one, the plant’s water treatment equipment will be updated. There will be a phase two, where they plan to investigate the sewer system bringing water to the plant for treatment.

The village’s application for the grant was waiting on the second public hearing and a resolution for a residential anti-displacement and relocation assistance plan. Council passed the resolution during Tuesday’s council meeting. The application will be submitted by the end of the month.

In March there will be an environmental study for the project. Knapp said the environmental study should not be too intensive because most of the update is taking place inside. After the environmental study the village will be able to request release of funds and move forward with the updates. Construction for the project is expected to finish by the end of May 2021, with the final performance report in July of 2021.

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