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Trumbull County officials press state for grant reconsideration as sewer and Mosquito Lake projects face funding gaps
Summary
Commissioners were warned that losing OPWC principal‑forgiveness for the Pendleton/Gilmer sewer project would force the county to return other grant funds and delay future phases, and staff outlined options for tying Mosquito Lake erosion work to larger water projects for more competitive federal funding.
Trumbull County commissioners were briefed on a string of water and sewer projects and told that a recent state award list left a county priority project without anticipated principal-forgiveness funding, threatening roughly $1.5 million in grant support and imperiling scheduled downstream phases.
Julie Green, Trumbull County planning staff, told the board that the Mosquito Lake project is “authorized but it is not appropriated,” meaning the item appears in federal legislation but no money has yet been set aside. She said Section 22 and Water Resources Development Act avenues could inform future appropriations but stressed that authorization alone does not guarantee funding.
Gary, the county sanitary engineer, walked commissioners through the county’s nomination packets, publicly available scoring and the apparent discrepancy in principal-forgiveness awards. He said the county’s Pendleton‑Gilmer nomination sought principal forgiveness necessary to move subsequent phases, and that not receiving the award could force return of other planned funds and delay outcomes. The board asked staff to prepare a one‑page “cheat sheet” outlining the loss and talking points for outreach to state legislators and agency contacts.
Commissioners discussed strategies to make projects more competitive, including bundling sewer work around Mosquito Lake with sewer extensions and fronts to increase project scale for federal appropriations. Staff noted that typical W/WRDA projects can run in the multi‑million‑dollar range and often require local match; Section 22 projects the county is pursuing are on a smaller scale intended to provide baseline studies to support future federal applications.
The board agreed to pursue further conversations with the state environmental finance contacts, engage Representative David Joyce’s office and prepare materials for the public hearing and the Jan. 21 comment period on the draft ranking.
Next steps: staff will produce the requested one‑page summary for commissioners to take to state contacts; the county will also pursue coordinated outreach with regional legislators to request reconsideration of the OPWC principal‑forgiveness decisions.
