Lorain County wins roughly $67 million for West-side mega-site; county and Vermilion officials discuss regional sewer plans

Lorain County officials told Vermilion City Council members that the state awarded about $67 million to support infrastructure for a proposed West-side industrial “mega-site” centered on Lorain County Regional Airport, and that the funding will help lay the groundwork for a regional wastewater system county leaders hope will be online in the late 2020s.

The grant, county officials said at the meeting, will fund utilities and other infrastructure improvements that make large industrial parcels developable, and a related project would create a new Westside Water Recovery Resource Facility designed to be modular — initially sized to treat about 20 million gallons and expandable to roughly 60 million gallons per day.

Why it matters: County and city officials said the infrastructure could give Vermilion and nearby communities the option to connect to a regional transmission line and treatment plant rather than expand small local plants. That change, elected leaders and staff said, could reduce the local burden of building and operating a full treatment plant and create a larger, shared approach to sewer service in western Lorain County.

What county officials described: Jeff…