There were around $8.4 million in loans for Northwest Ohio. Delphos got a $531,237 loan to replace valves in the drinking water distribution system all over the city. The new valves and valve location will create isolation zones in the system. Allen and Hancock Counties got $150,000 each and Hardin County got $100,000 in principal forgiveness loans to repair or replace household sewage treatment systems.
On Wednesday July 7th, staff from the EPA were in Spencerville over a report of an accidental overnight release of egg wash liquid. The liquid made its way into a nearby stream as well. The Pine Valley Ranch was responsible for the spill and once they discovered the malfunction, they immediately turned off the pump system and followed emergency procedures. The company hired an environmental contractor to contain the discharge with earthen dams and remove the contaminants from the stream.
Commissioners entering into a contract with Bluffton Paving for the resurfacing of Columbus Groove- Bluffton Road with asphalt made from scrap tires. The four-mile stretch of recycled road is east of Bluffton to State Route 696 and will be partially funded by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The project was estimated at $312,000, but bids came in a little higher at $329,000 which is within the 10% allowed to be awarded. The project is slated to begin on the first of May.
The Allen County Engineers Office received a grant from the Ohio E-P-A to use recycled tires in asphalt for a 4-mile paving job in northern Allen County. The Scrap Tire Grant is a 100-percent match which will pay for half of the 312-thousand-dollar project on Columbus Grove Bluffton Road west of the village to State Route 696.
The City of Lima Utilities Department is heading into the last phase of its biggest project ever. The 13 million gallon combined sewer overflow basin is soon to be underground with only interior work needing to be done possibly by the end of 2020. The 40-million dollar project was mandated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as part of the consent decree signed by the city. The project is on schedule and on budget. The Utilities Department also completing a 10-million dollar water meter change out with 28-thousand smart meters now in homes. They also made maintenance repairs at both the wastewater and water departments keeping everything online.
Every year, a group known as the Environmental Citizens Advisory Committee comes together with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to go over what the EPA found over the last year in terms of air quality throughout Allen County. The EPA mainly monitors three areas for their air quality report, and have now released the levels for ozone formation, sulfur dioxide, and smaller matter that is equal to or lesser than a certain size in 2018. What they found was that the county stayed within the level requirements that are set by the EPA.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was under scrutiny this past week when some state lawmakers claimed they knew of a lead leakage in one northeast Ohio village months ago.
