ATHENS, Ohio — After four years of construction, the $50 million U.S. 50 sewer project is coming to a close, having connected over 1,000 structures to the system.
Funding for the project came from several sources, including the H2Ohio program, the Ohio EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among other programs.
“What we’re waiting for is AEP to connect some substations so that people can connect to the project,” Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason said. Another 300 to 400 people are expected to connect to the newly installed sewer system as part of this final phase of the project, he said.
The new sewer replaces individual private septic systems, decreasing contamination of streams and groundwater with sewage.
“There were a number of failing systems out there,” Eliason said. “It was a hot spot for the [Environmental Protection Agency] and the health department, as far as pollution goes.”
Residents such as Jeff Frymier are happy that the project will have a positive impact on the environment, but are worried about the impact it will have on their personal finances. Under Ohio law, the property owner bears the cost of hooking up to the sewer system — a cost that can range from $7,000 to $20,000.
“It’s a lot of money to hook up,” Frymier said. “I think the sewer is worthwhile. It’s much more environmentally friendly than having all these septic systems. But you’re asking homeowners [for] a lot of money to do this.”
To alleviate the cost, the neighborhood formed a committee and tasked Frymier with negotiating with contractors to secure a group discount.
“[We] had them come out and give bids to four or five different houses so we would have an idea of what this was going to cost,” Frymier said.
Eliason said the wide range of costs is due to the geography of some homes.
That’s the case with Whitlind Lane resident Casey Sutton, whose home sits on a hill. That means contractors will have to do a lot of digging to connect his home to the sewer — which drives up the cost.
“The estimated costs that I’ve gotten from the three [contractors] is between — I think the lowest one is $14,000, and the highest one was $20,000,” Sutton said.
Depending on their income, some residents may be eligible for assistance from the Athens City-County Health Department’s Water Pollution Control Loan Fund.
As required by Ohio law, the health department oversees enforcement of hook-ups, ensures the proper decommission of private septic systems and verifies that hookups are made by licensed contractors.
Health department administrator Jack Pepper said his goal is to work with those hesitant to hook up and convince them to comply before the matter lands in front of a judge. Pepper said that it would be up to the judge to assign a penalty, but that he hopes that the penalty isn’t something that would hinder the connection process.
“My hope and dream is that there would be some solution that could be arrived at before jail,” Pepper said. “I talk about this a lot, jail is not good for anybody. It’s not good for whomever we’re managing, no matter what the situation is… Because we don’t get resolution to the problem at the end of the day. You know, our goal here is not to put people in jail. Our goal here is to resolve whatever the problem is.”
Pepper said that the health department hasn’t had to go to court so far.
The health department also has some flexibility when it comes to the timeline of connections. Currently, connections are expected to be done by May or June, but the health department can grant extensions if residents call and create plans.
“We can’t extend into perpetuity,” Pepper said. “But we really do understand and want to work with people in terms of what their circumstances are and how we can best arrive at a place where we’re hooked up.”
Miscommunication
The project has drawn the ire of several affected residents, with many of whom point to a lack of communication. For instance, residents, the health department and Eliason all seem to have a different view on the timeline of the project.
For Eliason, the project went without any major delays and stayed on its timeline.
“The construction of the project really didn’t encounter many delays,” Eliason said. “There’s a timeline that you’re allowed to keep it constructed under.”
However, Frymier said that the project’s timeline has been delayed and that communication has been lacking.
“It was about this time last year we were told that they were done in our neighborhood, and hookups will happen late spring, early summer,” Frymier said. “‘Go ahead, get the bid from contractors if you want.’ They said we’ll soon be getting a thing in the mail to tell us it’s OK to hook up. Still don’t have anything.”
Viktoria Marinova, Sutton’s partner, said that the communication they have received about the project has been confusing.
“We don’t know what’s going on,” Marinova said. “We’ve probably received like, two, maybe three notices about it, and the dates are not the same. You go on their website, you have no idea what’s going on. They have those different phases, but it’s not accurate because they’re so behind on everything.”
The health department says that construction has been delayed with Pepper providing the Independent with a copy of the publicly available proposed U.S. 50 connection schedule.
“You can see on there the connection notices that are varying [from the] original schedule,” Pepper said. “You can see we’re behind by about a year,”
Pending litigation
Sutton and Marinova are suing Fields Excavating, the company that put in the sewer line, for damages their house has allegedly sustained as a result of the digging.
“Just downhill from my house, they had to drill through like 14 feet of solid stone,” Sutton said. “It was so bad that … the entire house would shake. The only thing I have to draw from memories for comparison is like actual explosions from the military.”
Sutton served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne from 2002–2010 and purchased his home in 2021 using a loan from the Veterans Administration.
In addition to the digging, Marinova alleged that Field Excavating parked an excavator in their front yard and did work on their property without their consent.
“Basically, in the contract that they have with the county, it clearly states that if they need to be on the owner’s property at any point, they have to request permission from the owners,” Marinova said. “Whether it is to park their cars, whether it is to park their bulldozers, whatever the case may be, they need permission from the owners, and not once did they come and ask us for permission.”
Lines four and eight of the general notes of the contract state that “the contractor shall notify each resident 48 hours prior to excavating on his/her property” and “the contractor shall limit their area to the easement shown on these plans unless written permission is given by the property owner and approved by Athens County.”
Sutton and Marinova hired an engineer from Scheeser Buckley Mayfield to inspect their house; the engineer’s report concluded that the damage was likely caused by the digging. Sutton said that after consulting with a number of experts the cost to repair the home will be over $100,000.
When Fields Excavating’s insurance company denied Sutton and Marinova’s claim, the couple hired an attorney and filed suit seeking compensation for actual damage plus loss of use.
While the suit plays out, though, the property owners are in limbo about connecting to the new sewer system.
“I’m actually in a difficult position where if I get told to hook up the sewer, I can’t,” Sutton said. “I can’t do that until the court case is resolved, because if I do, then [Fields Excavating’s lawyers] are going to use that as an argument and say, ‘Oh, well, the sewer hookup company you hired did this damage. Or, you know, ‘You can’t prove that it was just us,’ so I’ll have to collect any fees that the county decides to charge for not hooking up in time”
Another lawsuit was filed against Fields Excavating in January 2025 alleging that the company had improperly installed part of the sewer system and damaged the foundation of Daniel Anerino’s home. The suit also claims that Fields Excavating damaged the drainage system on the property which caused “large amounts of water to flow towards and into [Anerino’s] home.”
This suit is seeking $50,000 in compensation plus legal fees.
This isn’t the first time residents have complained about Fields Excavations’ work on the project. In March 2023, the Athens Messenger reported that residents on University Heights Drive had talked to the commissioners about a growing slip on the road caused in part by sewer project construction.
Scott Sheets, an attorney representing Fields Excavating, declined to comment.
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