Granville, Alexandria and Johnstown present regional wastewater alternative to Ohio EPA

A project consultant for the coalition told the Village of Granville council that the coalition has submitted a facility-planning alternative to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) that would group Granville Village, the city of Alexandria and the village of Johnstown into a single, locally managed planning area.

The coalition’s proposal, the consultant said, emphasizes phased growth tied to existing infrastructure and comprehensive plans and would “lower immediate and long-term costs” compared with a competing plan from Licking Regional that front-loads a larger treatment plant. The consultant said the coalition’s cumulative 20-year capital estimate is about $327,000,000 versus approximately $344,000,000 for the regional plan and that the coalition’s current debt exposure is roughly $60,000,000 compared with about $170,000,000 under the regional alternative.

Why it matters: The Ohio EPA is reexamining a facility-planning map created in the mid-2000s (the 208 planning process). The agency’s decision will determine which entity is the designated management agency (DMA) for wastewater facility planning areas — a designation that affects who can plan, finance and expand sewer service and where ratepayers may ultimately carry the costs.

Most of the coalition presentation focused on using existing treatment capacity and topography to delay construction of a large new plant, the consultant said, pushing a major new plant toward the back half of a 20-year horizon so costs and borrowings grow as development produces revenues. The consultant also emphasized alignment with school districts, preservation of natural resources in the Raccoon/ Rock Creek watershed, and coordination on drinking water and recreational infrastructure.

A county staff member who addressed the council explained how assignments from the 2006 208 plan were allocated: municipalities that had treatment plants were originally designated DMAs within their boundaries, with other areas assigned to county commissioners and later to Licking Regional by county action. That staff member said both the coalition plan and the Licking Regional plan are now before Ohio EPA and that the state could adopt either plan in full or some combination of the two.

On timing, the staff member said there is “no fixed timeline under statute,” but estimated a technical meeting with Ohio EPA within about a month and a possible preliminary state decision within roughly three months, followed by public hearings if the state proceeds. The staff member cautioned this was an estimate, not a firm schedule.

Council members pressed for operational detail. Presenters said Granville’s treatment plant has a permanent permitted capacity of 910,000 gallons per day and a design capacity of 1,250,000 gpd; expanding to the design capacity, they said, would be largely an administrative process expected within 6–12 months pending EPA timing, while a larger physical expansion would require new infrastructure and funding.

No formal council action was taken on the floor; the presentation was informational and the coalition said it will continue technical follow-up with Ohio EPA and with partners such as JobsOhio and the state development office.

The presentation and subsequent discussion make explicit the tradeoffs Ohio EPA will weigh: who can finance and operate larger facilities, when communities will be required to build, and how sewer planning would be coordinated with land-use choices in Western Licking County.

Looking ahead: Ohio EPA’s decision on the facility-planning boundaries will shape where larger investments are made and which entity will be authorized to lead wastewater facility planning for the affected townships and municipalities. The council’s presenters said they intend to continue outreach and technical conversations with state reviewers.