July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Sewage district petition signed (8/9/05)
County to file petition with state agency
By By Mike Snyder-
Jay County has officially asked a state agency for permission to form an entity to help solve sewage disposal issues in unincorporated areas of the county.
On Monday, Jay County Commissioners signed a petition asking the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to allow the county to form a regional sewage district.
The move is in response to a growing problem with failing septic systems in the county — specifically in and around a group of homes southwest of Portland.
The regional district, which would be governed by a seven-member board, would have the authority to come up with solutions for problem areas and would also have the authority to bill affected property owners to pay for those solutions.
The commissioners are expected to hire an engineering/consulting firm to assist with preparation of a detailed plan for the sewage district. Commissioners Faron Parr, Milo Miller Jr. and Gary Theurer will sit on the district board, along with four other members.
Commonwealth Engineers, based in Indianapolis, has made a proposal to assist in the process, but the commissioners are waiting on a cost estimate before agreeing to a contract.
The problem of failing septic systems, which has been dealt with on a case-by-case basis, came to a head last summer with the discovery of raw sewage flowing into a ditch near the Foxfire Addition. That cluster of homes is located on county road 125 South, about a half-mile west of Ind. 67.
State officials, including a representative from IDEM, investigated on site and discovered high levels of E. coli bacteria both in the ditch and the nearby Salamonie River.
Instead of citing individual homeowners, IDEM threatened the county with a $25,000 per-day fine if the problem was not corrected. IDEM has not acted on that threatened fine.
The commissioners will ask the Jay County Council on Wednesday to sign the petition to form the sewage district.
Also Monday, the commissioners signed a resolution of support and an application for a grant to fund operations of The NewInterurban rural transportation system for 2006.
Jay County acts as the fiscal agent for the system, which serves Jay, Randolph, Delaware and Blackford counties. LifeStream Services Inc., a Yorktown-based not-for-profit, administers the transportation service.
The requested grant, which comes from the federal government through the Indiana Department of Transportation, is for more than $500,000.[[In-content Ad]]
On Monday, Jay County Commissioners signed a petition asking the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to allow the county to form a regional sewage district.
The move is in response to a growing problem with failing septic systems in the county — specifically in and around a group of homes southwest of Portland.
The regional district, which would be governed by a seven-member board, would have the authority to come up with solutions for problem areas and would also have the authority to bill affected property owners to pay for those solutions.
The commissioners are expected to hire an engineering/consulting firm to assist with preparation of a detailed plan for the sewage district. Commissioners Faron Parr, Milo Miller Jr. and Gary Theurer will sit on the district board, along with four other members.
Commonwealth Engineers, based in Indianapolis, has made a proposal to assist in the process, but the commissioners are waiting on a cost estimate before agreeing to a contract.
The problem of failing septic systems, which has been dealt with on a case-by-case basis, came to a head last summer with the discovery of raw sewage flowing into a ditch near the Foxfire Addition. That cluster of homes is located on county road 125 South, about a half-mile west of Ind. 67.
State officials, including a representative from IDEM, investigated on site and discovered high levels of E. coli bacteria both in the ditch and the nearby Salamonie River.
Instead of citing individual homeowners, IDEM threatened the county with a $25,000 per-day fine if the problem was not corrected. IDEM has not acted on that threatened fine.
The commissioners will ask the Jay County Council on Wednesday to sign the petition to form the sewage district.
Also Monday, the commissioners signed a resolution of support and an application for a grant to fund operations of The NewInterurban rural transportation system for 2006.
Jay County acts as the fiscal agent for the system, which serves Jay, Randolph, Delaware and Blackford counties. LifeStream Services Inc., a Yorktown-based not-for-profit, administers the transportation service.
The requested grant, which comes from the federal government through the Indiana Department of Transportation, is for more than $500,000.[[In-content Ad]]
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