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New Athens Headline 1 considering sewage rate hike-up to combat Headline 1 wastewater plant’s sludge issues $1.25
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New Athens met Monday night for their regular monthly meeting. And as the council expounded on some of the issues with the plant’s day-to-day, council member Mark Arnold mentioned that the wastewater plant is being checked daily and cleaned frequently. Not only is that not supposed to be the case, but it’s coming at another cost: some projects are falling to the wayside — and coupled with more rainfall in the summer, the other jobs can compound quickly. When workers visit the wastewater plant every day, it takes time from other ventures, and those ventures get stuck in the backlog, especially if the plant needs cleaning. Council member Mark Arnold mentioned that too: “When they got to babysit the plant, nothing’s getting done — and that’s the problem.” If the meeting were any indication, the wastewater facility’s sludge dilemma is at the epicenter, and it’s causing supplemental obstacles. Arnold continued that maybe it would be worth installing a grinder pump. The grinder pump could address another rising problem at the plant and was the primary bullet point, but its secondary matter became the next bigger talking point. Council members were
emphatic that New Athens residents discontinue current flushing habits. Reports from the council indicated that much of the plant’s blockages had been exacerbated by larger waste that shouldn’t have been in the system: toilet paper rolls, cigarette butts, baby wipes, plastic, and tampons. The sludge in the system is one matter, but public utilities supervisor Matt Litman Jr. is cleaning out the flotsam, too. The floating trash adds extra strain on an already sensitive sewage issue. And that’s also why the grinder pump had been mentioned. Moreover, mayor Joe Petro stated that he had recently cut a check for $2,400 for two trips to haul away sludge. And that was just in August. The trucks move the sludge to a site in Canton for processing; the waste reportedly can’t be taken to any given location. And that makes the process more expensive. So it was agreed all around that the payments couldn’t continue. That’s what conceptualized the sewage rate increase idea. No motions were passed on any extra charges to sewer bills, but the conversation seemed to prime everyone for it as an option. So while nothing concrete was set into motion, a rate increase could become a reality — especially if thousands of dollars continue to get spent on sludge hauling.
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Photo provided by Kevin Chaffee of Earthtek Environmental LLC. Earthtek Environmental is the company responsible for the New Athens wastewater treatment plant. The plant in News Athens is Earthtek’s Sabre 67,695 gpd SBR model.
This week
2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW
Page 2 Headline 6 How a solar energy company is planning on making Headline 6 its mark among Harrison’s oil, gas, and coal Regular Body Copy
BY JD LONG
The bulk of our jim@harrisonnewsherald.com paragraphs will look like this! Regular Body Copya land that coal once dominated and is heavy CADIZ—In
Only 1 Ohio Valley county saw population growth in 2020 census BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com
“Today, the Ohio Department of Health amended COUNTY—The 2020 Census results its HARRISON remaining health order to conform to the new released lastforweek, and asControl feared and possibly expected, the Centers Disease and Prevention (CDC) population dropped many counties the Ohio guidance, whichinallows those in who haveValley, been “Today, the Ohio Department of Health amended vaccinated to stop wearing masks. including Harrison Butconform for overalltoOhio, though, its remaining healthCounty. order to the new the population rose by more than 200,000 (2.3%). sites have old electrical lines that run into them where they’ve usedCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) With 36 people per square County which allows thosemile, whoHarrison have been power historically.” He said those lines mainly stay up, and theguidance, dropped in population by 1,381; an 8.7% decline caused a vaccinated to stop wearing masks. brownfields they look for aren’t where normal housing or business
drop below 15,000 compared to 2010. projects will take place, making the land purchase cheaper. “I won’t pretend I’m qualified enough to dispute the cen“So, oftentimes, the interconnection is a little bit more, you in the oil and gas fracking industry, solar power is attemptsus, but there’s no question our numbers are greater considThe bulk of our paragraphs will look ing to make inroads into Harrison County. Commissioner know, compatible with the existing infrastructure that’s there,” like this! ering the transient worker population,” Harrison County Curran added as another reason for the site selection. As far as Paul Coffland revealed at last week’s Community Improvecommissioner Don Bethel explained. “The fact is that Harment Corporation meeting a recent conference call between groundbreaking goes, it won’t take place in 2021. Though it’s posrison County is still attracting/retaining our own homethe commissioners and Nottingham Solar (a BQ Energy sible to see something happen late next year, Curran said 2023 is grown qualified youth who remain here or return after leavsubsidiary). Coffland spoke positively about what took place not out of the question. Small Body Copy “It takes a while to build all of the infrastructure that we would ing to acquire secondary education, which hasn’t been the and thewe future prospects themore county. “There’s a complete In case just *really have tofor fit in norm here for decades.” Bethel called it a positive sign for words than for. open bookweonbargained what they’re doing and how they’re going to need to our power lines and that kind of thing to get everything the county’s growth “and viability as a county.” be doing it,” Coffland said. “So, it was very informational. [I] ready,” Curran explained. Only one surrounding county, Tuscarawas, with 164.4 Small Body Copy Curran said studies are still ongoing as the Ohio Power Siting thought was a good In case we itjust *really havecall.” to fit in more people per square mile, saw a rise in population: 92,582 Board is considering BQ’s application to move forward, which was Solarfor. LLC (Nottingham Solar) is proposing a 100 words“Nottingham than we bargained in 2010 and 93,263 in 2020 (a 0.7% increase). With 159.9 See COVID - Pg. 2 CREDiT submitted near the beginning of August. MWac solar farm locatedPHOTO in Athens Township, people per square mile, Jefferson County dropped by 6.4% NH PHOTO BY ED BANKS When asked about the possibility of the Harrison County, Ohio. Nottingham Solar has Harrison Power Plant coming to fruition — a to 65,249 compared to 69,709 in 2010. a long-term lease on a reclaimed coal surface With just 67.7 people per square Carroll -County Seemile, COVID Pg. 2 project owned by EmberClear that has been in CREDiT mine. The Project willPHOTO produce solar-powered matched Harrison’s drop at 8.7%, losing about 2,100 of the works for the past three to four years, CurNH PHOTO BY ED BANKS electricity that will maximize energy producCutline ran said it wasn’t necessarily competition for their population since 2010. And Belmont County dropped tion from available solar resources to deliver people. ELECTIONS - Pg.2 the Nottingham project. “I don’t know if we’re 5.5%, which was about 3,903See clean, electricity Ohio bulk This isrenewable the text that captionstoallthe of our Guernsey County had 73.6 people per square mile, and competition,” he began. “You know, electricity beautiful pictures. system, serving the needs of power transmission they dropped by 4.1%, a population loss of just under 2,000. Cutline is a funny world where people buy power of electric utilities and their customers,” according Noble County saw a 3.6% drop with only 530 fewer -people different flavors nowadays.” He noted the oldSee ELECTIONS Pg.2 to Nottingham Solar’s project summary. This is the text that captions all of our leaving with 35.5 people per square mile. Monroe County er power plants are retiring, “and so you know, BQ pictures. Energy’s (Nottingham Solar parent beautiful two new ones don’t really compete that much was on par with Harrison and Carroll Counties with a loss company) MO is searching for and procuring of 8.6%, a population loss of around 1,200. with each other.” “brownfields:” Writer’s Nameland usually occupied by land2020 was the first census where people could respond onCurran wished well the prospects of the fills and abandoned coal mine properties. BQ’s line, and the results showed the U.S. population exploding Harrison Power Plant after being told of its managing director Paul Curran said the comto more than 331 million people. According to the census promise for years but still has not produced pany got the ball rolling back in 2019 when Writer’s Name results. He then shared the story of a Hudson data, Ohio ranked quite well with a self-response percentage they leased Writer’s Title the property in Athens Township Valley (New York) power plant finally built of 70.7 and ranked 12th in that area nationally. from Consol Mining Company. “In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 331.4 million after spending nearly 10 years in the works. Curran said the process’s longest steps are people living in the United States; more than three-quarNottingham’s Solar Project estimates that studying the power grid’s interconnectivity, apters (77.9%) or 258.3 million were adults, 18 years or Writer’s Title it’ll employ 400 construction jobs (for approxplying for the right to generate electricity, and older — a 10.1% increase from 234.6 million in 2010. imately nine months) with 20 part- and fullworking with the utility companies and their The aging of baby boomers, those born between 1946 Crossword Text time openings once the plant is operational. assessments. And along with that comes coland 1964, who were ages 57 to 75 in 2021, is partly Additional stats state that the plant would add laboration with PJM Connection, the company Photo provided by Nottingham $700,000 “to local tax rolls annually,” with driving the growth in the adult population,” according that operates local power grids and works with to the U.S. Census Bureau. Solar 59% going to the school district, 26% to HarCrossword Text all other utility companies. Interestingly, the U.S.’ northeast and south regions saw The proposed solar panel project rison County, and the remaining 15% to the “Our company goes looking for brownfields being engineered by Nottingham library, township, health services, and jobs and contrasting data; the highest percentage of a regional adult and landfills exclusively so, this is an old coal Solar, a subsidiary of BQ Energy, population lived in the north at 79.7%, but they also had property, and so it kind of naturally fell into our will be in the New Athens area just family services. It is estimated that $21 million the lowest rate of under-18s at 20.3%. The south was the bailiwick,” Curran said, referring to how they off Stumptown Road. BQ leased would be poured into the community over a opposite: their population was 77.5% adults and 22.5% unthe property from Consol back in 30-year period. ended up in Harrison County. “Many of these der 18. 2019. OBiTUARiES EVENTS HARRISON SPORTS CRIME
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