Posted on December 11, 2018
The state is set put millions of dollars toward a Conneaut dredging project.
State Sen. Sean O’Brien, D-Bazetta, announced this week the Ohio Controlling Board approved $4 million for the planning and construction of Conneaut’s Creek Dredge Facility.
“Lawmakers have the goal of significantly cleaning up Lake Erie by 2020,” O’Brien said. “Today’s investment provides funding for one of the key projects that will help us meet that goal.”
Conneaut’s facility will be designed to reduce open lake disposal of silt and potentially hazardous materials. The site will accept up to 75,000 cubic yards per year of material dredged from the bottom of Lake Erie and nearby waterways, according to a release from O’Brien’s office. Proper disposal of such material can help stop the spread of dangerous contaminants to people and wildlife and ensure the safe passage of boats.
Conneaut’s facility is among three “Healthy Lake Erie” projects approved in Ohio this week. The Ohio Controlling Board approved a release totaling $9.9 million from the Healthy Lake Erie Fund to Lucas, Lorain, and Ashtabula counties, according to the House Communications press release Wednesday.
Lorain and Toledo are set to build similar facilities to dredge their harbors.
The Healthy Lake Erie initiative is part of the Clean Lake 2020 law, sponsored by O’Brien and State Sen. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green.
The bill allocates more than $36 million to water quality programs.
Early this year, O’Brien and Gardner introduced a bill to deal with Lake Erie’s water quality and the activities surrounding it like salt testing, dredging and boots on the ground, said State Rep. John Patterson, D-Jefferson.
Conneaut’s Creek Dredge Facility project is a result of a law passed in 2015 prohibiting dredged materials from the harbors or any navigation maintenance activities to be deposited into Lake Erie.
By July 1, 2020, all eight harbors are supposed to have an alternative solution in place in order to continue their dredging. This includes Conneaut, Ashtabula, Fairport, Cleveland, Lorain, Huron, Sandusky and Toledo.
Patterson said 50 percent of the dredging materials in Lake Erie comes solely from Toledo’s port and it’s filthy and mucky there.
“We know that open-lake dumping can have a devastating impact on lake ecosystems and can even exacerbate the algal blooms plaguing our coastal communities. I am thrilled to hear that the state is offering new support to the communities on the front lines of the algae crisis,” said State Rep. Michael Sheehy, D-Oregon.
In regard to the initiative the ports have taken to progress with their projects, Patterson said “Conneaut’s been on the forefront of being proactive.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of Conneaut. Their leadership was phenomenal,” he said.
O’Brien said the bipartisan legislation is “an important example of legislators from both sides of the aisle coming together to get things done for Ohioans. I am proud to continue working with my colleagues who are dedicated to preserving our Great Lake.”
Conneaut City Manager James Hockaday said this is the first significant step forward in 18 months since the project first came about.
Next, City Council has to approve the project via an ordinance, and then the design and planning stages will begin with the engineers and operators of the facility, he said.
Hockaday said he still plans to have a public meeting in December to let people know what’s going on. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agency as well as Patterson will be in attendance.
Hockaday said this is a multiyear project and the facility will not be fully operational by July 2020. The dredge-to-soil project will have a large basin to rapidly dewater the dredged material before it’s removed, blended and sold as top soil. The site will be located where Canadian National’s former coal facility was, also known as the lower coal deck.
Source: Star Beacon
