V&M explores giving Youngstown control over sewage

By Karl Henkel and Robert Guttersohn

news@vindy.com

GIRARD

An attorney for V&M Star will appear before City Council tonight to discuss transferring sewage jurisdiction for the company from Girard to Youngstown, Mayor James Melfi has confirmed.

David Bozanich, Youngstown city finance director, recently told The Vindicator the city informally has discussed transferring V&M sewage jurisdiction to Youngstown but that no formal plans were presented.

Girard in 2010 finished $500,000 in improvements to its waste-treatment plant to accommodate an increased need from V&M Star’s $650 million expansion.

About $400,000 of that came from Youngstown as part of a cooperative-agreement signed between the two cities on Oct. 14, 2009.

Melfi said the improvements ensured the city could handle the volume of waste water generated by V&M.

V&M’s current operating site is part of Youngstown. Its new mill, as well as the recently announced $57 million VAM USA LLC pipe-thread plant, are part of the cooperative-agreement area.

Girard would receive about $120,000 to $180,000 in annual sewer fees once V&M’s new plant is fully operating.

Operations at the expansion mill will ramp up beginning in April, a company spokesman said.

Girard receives about $1.7 million a year in wastewater revenue, Melfi said. V&M’s expansions will increase that annual amount by about 7 percent to 11 percent.