Ohio OKs $47M for Sediment Recycling Facilities

The State of Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management Controlling Board has authorized $47 million to fund the construction of Sediment Recycling Facilities across the State of Ohio.

Sometimes called a confined placement facility, they are specifically designed for the containment of contaminated dredged material from Lake Erie that provides control of potential releases of contaminants to the environment.

Lake County will receive $11.3 million in funding to construct its facility in Painesville Township, which is planned to be operational this fall.

The need for these facilities was prompted by ORC 6111.32 which bans the disposal of dredged sediment from federal navigation channels into Lake Erie. As a result, dredging of the Grand River in Fairport Harbor came to a halt last year.

“That action posed a significant economic problem for the County,” said David Anderson, Executive Director of the Lake Development Authority.

“This is Lake County’s only commercial port. Losing the ability to conduct maritime commerce threatens about 170 jobs and over $371 million of commodities handled through the port each year.”

A loss of 1-2 feet of channel depth would increase transportation costs for local businesses by over a million dollars a year, according to Patrick Mohorcic, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Public Finance for Lake Development Authority.

Mohorcic serves as the project manager for the sediment recycling facility.