Gaskin: EPA issues are being addressed

SOUTH POINT — The village of South Point has approved a contract for $413,270 with Shelly Company for upcoming paving projects.

Mayor Jeff Gaskin said the council voted at last week’s meeting for the contract, which will cover Eisenhower to 11th streets and Linden to Margaret streets and “everything in between.”

Gaskin said the village has also received a letter from the Ohio Environmental Protection agency about violations found with its water system.

Gaskin said the village has resolved seven of the nine violations they were notified of in November.

He said most of these covered minor issues, such as small repairs to water well pumps and the length of vents, but the biggest issue is the need to install water meters for the village.

The EPA has mandated this for the village to return to compliance and Gaskin says they must be installed by June 30, 2024.

He said South Point’s water loss is estimated to be at 40 percent, meaning the village pays “to produce, treat and distribute water that is wasted and never used by the customer.”

He said the EPA mandates that they reduce water loss to below 30 percent by Oct. 4, 2024.

“For the other two, we have a plan,” Gaskin said of the outstanding violations and said the EPA would work with the village.

He said failure to comply would result in $25,000 fines per day.

“We are working toward this and it is imperative that we return to compliance,” he said.

In other business, the council:

• Heard from the police department. Gaskin said the village has hired a new officer and will be back at full staffing.

• Heard from the fire department, who recently purchased four handheld thermal imaging cameras.

• Heard from the village administrator’s office. The village pumped 15 million gallons of water in march and treated 29 million gallons of sewage.

• Signed into the national opioid settlement with the state of Ohio.