July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Sewage plans move forward (05/02/06)

Jay County Commissioners

By By MARY ANN LEWIS-

A plan of action to correct a problem with septic systems in the Fox Fires addition west of Portland took another step forward Monday when Jay County Commissioners approved a regional compliance plan that will be submitted to Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Commissioners had a May 15 deadline to submit the plan or face fines levied by IDEM.

Wayne Bailey, business and development manager for Commonwealth Engineers Inc. presented a plan to commissioners Monday that walks the county through the process. That plan will be submitted to EPA.

The problem concerns the flow of sewage into a creek on the west side of the addition that then flows into the Salamonia River. The discharge, discovered in 2004, was apparently from an old septic system.

IDEM was then notified of the situation and the county was instructed to form a regional sewage district and to come up with a solution to the problem.

Noting the EPA schedule is slow, Bailey told commissioners that approval of the sewer district by the EPA is not expected until mid-Dec.

Commissioners will now be looking for members to serve on a five-member board — four from the county and one from Portland — as mandated by the EPA. As other municipalities are involved with sewer issues, additional board members will be added from those communities, commissioners agreed.

Additionally Monday, commissioners heard Portland resident and businessman Bryan Alexander express concern about tearing down a recently-acquired building just north of the courthouse on the north side of West Walnut Street.

Commissioners recently purchased the previously-condemned building to make way for parking for courthouse employees.

Alexander asked commissioners not to demolish the building until a study of its historic value could be determined, and commissioners agreed to listen to members of the Jay County Historical Society concerning the building’s place in the downtown historic district.

Also Monday, commissioners signed an emergency claim for $5,983.20 to Atlas Builders of Wabash. Atlas workers had asked for a partial payment on their quote of $34,228 for cleaning and repairing the outside of the courthouse.

“They need some seed money,” Miller said about the early payment.

Commissioners Monday also agreed to make special exceptions on the ambulance use policy.

Miller said current policy allows for Jay Emergency Medical Services ambulances to transport patients to a health care facility, but does not provide for return transportation.

If someone needs transportation to as well as back, it can be done by a request from the physician, he explained.[[In-content Ad]]
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