YOUNGSTOWN — The federal government officially signed off on a final resolution to Youngstown’s plan to reduce the scope of a major wastewater improvement project, nearly 18 months after the city filed a court motion to reopen negotiations.

Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works, said Thursday: “I’m pleased they agreed to downsize the project based on our modeling. It’s a savings in the long run. It’s a win for us because we get to reduce the scope of the facility by 20 million gallons a day.”

Federal attorneys wrote in a court document: “Before filing this motion, counsel for the United States conferred in good faith with counsel for the city and Ohio. All counsel have authorized the United States to represent that they consent to the granting of this motion and the entry of the consent decree amendment. In addition, under the terms of the consent decree amendment, the city consents to entry of the consent decree without further notice.”

The federal Environmental Protection Agency had originally ordered the city in 2002 to do $310 million worth of work, but it was negotiated down to $160 million in 2014 with the expectation it would be finished in 20 years.

The city plans to have all of the work done by Oct. 1, 2035.

The city insisted in court filings and interviews with The Vindicator that if Youngstown complied with the mandates now the cost would be about $380 million to $400 million — well over twice what it agreed to do 11 years ago.

At the heart of the city’s concern was the construction of a 100-million-gallon-per-day wet weather facility. The structures in the facility would treat excess combined sewage during heavy rainstorms and then release the water.

The city argued in a March 15, 2024, motion to reopen the consent decree that the facility was too large and expensive. It suggested an 80-million-gallon-per-day facility.

In a Nov. 12 amended motion to modify the consent decree, attorney Terrence S. Finn of the Roetzel & Andress law firm in Akron, which represents the city, wrote the project’s initial estimate was $62 million, but is now more than $240 million.

The smaller facility has a preliminary cost estimate of about $180 million, but that is most likely to change once design work is done.

Federal attorneys wrote in Wednesday’s final resolution motion that the city estimates it could save “approximately $54 million in capital costs” with the smaller facility.

Design work on the facility would start in January 2026 and take about two years to complete, Shasho said. Construction would start in 2028.

“It’s multiple buildings, pump stations and tunnels,” Shasho said. “You’ll see legislation to authorize a design contract in a month or two” in front of city council.

During lengthy negotiations between the city and the federal government — with the state of Ohio as an interested party — that included four extensions sought and granted by Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Ohio, who is overseeing the case, an agreement was reached to honor the city’s request for the smaller facility.

The city and the state approved the project’s modifications months ago, according to an April 22 status report filed with Boyko.

In a June 6 court filing, the federal government stated it “successfully finalized a proposed resolution” to the reduced facility because the city is diverting 35.5 million gallons of combined sewage annually into the Mahoning River in an ongoing project, costing about $10.5 million, as well as an earlier deadline on the wet weather facility and a compressed schedule on an interceptor sewer project to keep wastewater from 13 lines from flowing into Mill Creek Park’s Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset.

That interceptor project is to start in January.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

In a June 20 court filing, the federal government sought an additional extension until Aug. 26 to “provide sufficient time for the United States to consider any public comments on the proposed consent decree amendment and advise the court and other parties as to the United States’ final position on” it. The federal filing agreeing to the final resolution, though, came eight days after the requested Aug. 26 extension. Boyko never set a deadline for the federal government to file its final resolution with the court.

The federal government opened the public comments period June 12 on the proposed resolution and closed it July 14.

During that time, it received one public comment — from the Center for Water Security and Cooperation in Washington, D.C. The comment didn’t oppose or support entry of the consent decree amendment. Instead, it asked that the amendment be modified to include more information about the financial considerations the city is facing to comply with the deadline for the work.

“The United States carefully reviewed the comment and has determined that it does not reveal any circumstances indicating that the consent decree is inappropriate, improper or inadequate,” according to Wednesday’s filing by Pedro Segura, trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Section, and Elizabeth Berry, an assistant U.S. attorney.

The federal filing states the city has discussed the financial aspects of the project, including increasing sewer rates by 5% annually for four years, citing two Vindicator articles in 2024 on the issue.

“Further financial analyses or modifications to the amendment at this stage are thus not necessary to effectuate greater public involvement,” Segura and Berry wrote.

They added: “The proposed amendment is fair, reasonable and adequate, in the public interest, and consistent with the Clean Water Act.”

PENALTY OR PROJECT

The day before the federal government filed the final consent decree amendment, Boyko sided with the United States in its demand for the city to pay a $739,500 penalty for missing deadlines on the two other phases of the wastewater project.

The city missed milestone dates for the completion of an upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant and the submission of preliminary designs for the Mill Creek Park sewer interceptor project.

Shasho said: “It’s unfortunate the judge made the decision he made.”

The city was given 30 days from Tuesday to pay the penalty.

The city plans to instead ask the federal government to permit it to do a wastewater improvement project at a higher cost than the penalty amount, Shasho said.

“We are considering a supplemental environmental project in lieu of the fine,” he said. “We’re going to ask the justice department about that. We’d prefer to do a project to reduce the environmental impact, complying with the Clean Water Act. We’re hoping they see it the same way. Rather than throwing money away, we want to do a project.”

Boyko wrote in his ruling on the penalty that if Youngstown “sought a delay (under a) provision agreed upon by the parties in the consent decree such stipulated penalties would not likely be an issue. Youngstown failed to abide by the terms of the consent decree and, as a result, must pay the penalties it agreed would be due and owed for such failures.”

The project’s first phase upgraded the city’s wastewater treatment plant and was completed Feb. 3, 2021. But the federal government argued — and Boyko agreed — that sludge handling improvements, not finished until June 30, 2021, were part of that project.

The project was supposed to be finished July 11, 2020, and makes up the largest part of the penalty imposed on Youngstown.

The initial construction estimate was $37.3 million, but the city said it cost $70 million.

That work helped reduce the sewer overflows that would be part of the wet weather facility project, a city court filing states.

The city also missed the April 15, 2021, milestone to submit the preliminary design report for the Mill Creek Park sewer interceptor project.

Design work was supposed to start July 11, 2020, and construction was to begin April 5, 2024.

The city plans a compressed schedule with the first two parts finished by May 29, 2028. The third part would be done by April 18, 2031, and the final part by Sept. 29, 2032.

That project was estimated to cost $47.7 million and will now cost more than $72 million, according to a court filing from the city.

The first two phases of that project, costing between $28 million and $43 million, will start in January.