Council gives OK to hire firm for analysis.
Tribune Chronicle WARREN — City council has given the administration permission to hire a firm that will do the environmental engineering analysis needed to write local regulations required for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
The Ohio EPA every five years does an analysis of materials going into the Mahoning River and advises communities and industries of updated requirements to be followed for discharges into the river.
“There are times when there are no changes, but there are times when the EPA will add new requirements,” Water Pollution Control Director Ed Haller said.
“When there are changes, communities must alter their local legislation to make them effective.” “We expect, for example, there will be changes in the amount of barium that may be discharged,” Haller said.
It will be up to the city to confirm local limits for each of the identified materials and minerals in the river and calculate the maximum allowable amounts for each.
It also will need to calculate the amounts released by each of the major industrial users.
Haller estimates the cost to hire an environmental engineer to do the analysis and help write the new local regulations can range anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000.
The positionwill be paid by funds earned by the department, officials said.
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