Sandusky official says sewer bill in Congress will help city

SANDUSKY — Hard-pressed Sandusky residents who face rising bills to pay for work on the sewer system will get relief from a new bill that the U.S. Senate has just passed, says Aaron Klein, public works director for the city.Klein was featured when U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, held a telephone press conference for reporters to promote the Water Resources Development Act.The Senate passed the measure last week, but it's still awaiting House action. Brown said he expects the House to approve it when House leaders get around to taking it up.The water measure includes $1.8 billion in federal grants, to be awarded over five years, to expand and improve overloaded sewer systems."This money is very, very important for cities like Sandusky," said Klein, who said utility rates to cover the cost of sewer work in Sandusky have doubled since 2000 and will quadruple by 2022."We are only 25,000 people," Klein said. "The burden goes up exponentially for each resident of the city if we have to keep raising rates."Klein said Sandusky has spent more than $20 million since 1997 to expand its wastewater treatment plant. The U.S. EPA, however, has asked Sandusky to put another $122 million into the plant and the city's sewer system, he said.Klein also spoke in favor of a provision of the bill that requires the EPA to emphasize cost-saving green infrastructure projects.That will help Sandusky, too, as the city has been building such projects, including the permeable parking lot now under construction on Jackson Street downtown, work on a city beach, planned tree plantings in the city and green infrastructure projects in neighborhoods.Another provision of the bill eases the pace on cities to make sewer improvements, making the burden easier for residents funding much of the cost of the work.Brown noted that bigger and better sewer systems reduce the amount of polluted water that goes into Lake Erie. That helps keep beaches clean, aiding Cedar Point and Lake Erie tourism, and also helps in the fight against harmful algal blooms. Infrastructure spending also creates jobs, Brown said.Brown said the House hasn't acted on the bill. House leaders have said they will take it up after the election, Brown said.The measure drew more than 90 votes in the Senate, he said."It should be an easy one in the House," he said.Klein, AaronBrown-062609-18446- 0008