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 Armbruster, Lorain County administrator, and members of his team briefed council on the mega-site concept and the wastewater plan. They said the mega-site proposal centers on land near the county airport; parcels have been assembled and the county has discussed with the Federal Aviation Administration the possible release of airport-dedicated land and a potential runway extension to 6,500 feet to increase the site’s marketability to large employers.

Armbruster and his staff said the state grant is directed at infrastructure on the West Side of the county and that a request for qualifications had been issued to hire technical teams to complete site selection, facility planning and regulatory coordination. County officials described the schedule as “aggressive,” aiming to complete site analyses and planning within about a year and to build transmission infrastructure beginning in 2026 with construction of treatment capacity through about 2030.

County staff said the Westside plant is being designed with modern treatment and water-reuse capabilities to meet industrial sustainability expectations, and that modular construction would allow capacity to be increased as development occurs. They also said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio EPA have responded positively in early conversations about financing and regionalization.

Clearwater district and separation of efforts: Armbruster emphasized that the county’s petition to create a new sanitary or sewer entity — referred to in the presentation as “Clearwater” and governed by the statutory process cited in the meeting — is a separate legal track from the $67 million grant. He said the Clearwater petition must, under the statute, demonstrate necessity, benefit and financial viability and that the public-court petition process would include required public meetings, hearings and court filings. He told council that the county expected the Clearwater petition process to be public and to include a financial feasibility report when formally filed.

Local context and council response: Mayor Portover introduced the county team and told council that Lorain County Commissioner contact suggested the award could be “big for Vermilion.” Council members asked whether the facility locations on presentation slides were final; county staff replied the slides were illustrative and that professional consultants would identify and recommend final sites. At least one council member said connecting to a regional transmission line instead of building a new plant “could be a tremendous savings” for Vermilion.

No city action tonight: The briefing was a presentation; council did not vote on any binding agreement or funding authorization at the meeting. County officials said the $67 million would be administered by the county for West-side infrastructure and that individual communities would later be offered the opportunity to connect; they also said no one would be forced to join a district and that rates or connection terms would be determined through future agreements.

Next steps: County staff said procurement for technical consultants was underway and that more detailed site, environmental and financial analyses would be released as they become available. Armbruster said the Clearwater petition, when it is ready, would follow the statutory public-notice and court filing steps described in the presentation.

For Vermilion residents: Council members and the mayor said they would continue following the county’s schedule; no decisions or commitments were made by the city during the meeting.