Lorain County authorizes $1.495 million purchase for proposed wastewater resource recovery site in Vermilion

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners voted March 27 to authorize the county administrator and deputy to finalize purchase of two parcels in Vermilion (parcel numbers 01000120000010 and 01000210000005) as the preferred site for a planned wastewater resource recovery facility.

The resolution authorizes earnest money of $25,000 to be placed in escrow with French Creek Title Agency and sets a final purchase price of $1,495,000 payable to the property owner. County staff said Cresco Group, working with Shook Construction, evaluated five candidate sites and selected the two-parcel site on Brownhelm Station Road and Sunnyside Road as the engineering-preferred option. Commissioners approved the motion unanimously.

County staff told commissioners the purchase includes a 120-day due-diligence period with two optional 30-day extensions to allow additional investigation before closing. A press release was expected to follow the meeting.

At the public-comment portion of the meeting, some residents raised environmental and public-health concerns tied to the planned facility. Diane Jackson, a New Russia Township resident, described the county's project as a "wastewater recovery facility" and warned about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). "They're defined as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or 'forever chemicals' ... They don't degrade," Jackson said, arguing that industrial wastewater from data centers and similar facilities could introduce persistent contaminants.

County staff framed the purchase as a site-selection decision guided by engineering and funding prospects; the commissioners placed no additional binding conditions on the authorization at the meeting. The board did not take a formal environmental-approval vote at the session; any technical studies, permitting and funding steps remain part of the due-diligence and project development process.

Next steps: the county will complete due diligence, pursue required environmental and regulatory reviews as needed, and issue a press release as staff indicated. Public commenters asked that environmental impacts and PFAS risks be addressed during technical review.