Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Trumbull County holds hearing on revised erosion, drainage rules; updates include higher water‑quality threshold and new review fee
Loading...
Summary
At a Jan. 28 public hearing, Trumbull County officials reviewed proposed revisions to the county's erosion and sediment control rules and drainage manual, including updated rainfall data, an Ohio EPA-driven water-quality standard change from 0.7 to 0.9 inches, and a $500 drainage review application fee.
The Trumbull County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on Jan. 28 in Warren to consider proposed revisions to the county's erosion and sediment control rules and the Trumbull County drainage manual that county staff say are needed to comply with the federal Clean Water Act and state law.
Gary Tenary, chief deputy engineer at the Trumbull County Engineer's Office, led the presentation and said most of the manual remains unchanged but its organization was streamlined from eight sections to seven and several technical and administrative updates were added. "We updated the rainfall intensity numbers" and the 24‑hour rainfall amounts for storm frequencies using the latest ODOT guidance and NOAA Atlas data, Tenary said. He added that the Ohio EPA raised the post‑construction water‑quality control method from 0.7 inches to 0.9 inches and the manual reflects that change.
Tenary described several new submittal and certification requirements aimed at improving plan review and as‑built documentation. The revisions add an appendix outlining the plan submittal, review and approval process and require an as‑built certification from the engineer who prepared the plans. "It now has an application fee of $500, and then review is review fee is a $100 an hour for us to review the plans," Tenary said, summarizing the new administrative fees and the drainage review application form and checklist that will accompany plan submissions.
The manual also clarifies design expectations for stormwater management ponds and includes a stormwater management summary of discharges to show how different storm frequencies meet critical‑storm methods and as‑built requirements. Tenary said the county added a storm‑sewer computation sheet similar to one ODOT uses and a long‑term operation and maintenance agreement required by the Ohio EPA.
Marcus Hollenbank of the Trumbull County Soil and Water Conservation District told the board the updates align the county rules with the "minimum standards of the EPA's current rules." No members of the public spoke at the hearing.
A board member moved to take the statements from the hearing under advisement; Malloy and Bernard voted yes and the motion passed with Hernandez recorded as absent. The board later moved to adjourn; that motion passed by the same recorded vote. The board had previously adopted a resolution on Jan. 7 authorizing two public hearings; the second hearing is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2026. Legal notices for the hearings ran in the Tribune Chronicle on Jan. 9 and Jan. 14, 2026, and were posted on the commissioner's website.
The hearing record includes the engineer's draft of the Trumbull County erosion and settlement control rules and the drainage manual, dated Nov. 26, 2025. No decisions were adopted at the hearing beyond the procedural motions to take testimony under advisement and to adjourn; the board indicated it will consider comments and the written record in its next steps.
