Washington Electric Cooperative Inc
Buckeye Hills Regional Council
1400 Pike Street Marietta, Ohio 45750
740-336-2042
To All Interested Persons, Agencies, and Groups:
On or about, but not before, April 21, 2022, the Washington County Electric Cooperative Inc will submit a request to the State of Ohio for the release of Federal funds under Section 104 (g) of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended; Section 288 of Title II of the Cranston Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act (NAHA), as amended; and/or Title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, as amended; to be used for the following project(s):
Noble County Grid Modernization and Make Ready for Broadband Deployment project: The project work will fall into one of three categories rearrangement of existing facilities, replacement of pole, or installing of new mid-span pole.
This project will upgrade 215 miles of main-line electrical routes to increase grid resiliency and enable an internet service provider to cost effectively deploy fiber along these routes. The upgraded routes will reach 1,392 of the cooperative’s member-consumers. The affected electrical distribution routes are primarily in Noble County within the Center, Elk, Stock, Marion, Jefferson, Enoch, Olive, Jackson, and Sharon townships but will also extend into adjacent areas of Morgan County’s Center Township, Monroe County’s Franklin and Bethel townships, and Washington County’s Adams, Aurelius, Liberty, and Salem townships, reaching additional unserved or underserved areas.
ARC Funded
Electrical Grid Modernization and Make Ready for Broadband Deployment Project
Single Year Project
Multiple Locations in Monroe, Morgan, Noble, and Washington counties.
Estimated Cost: $2.1 Million
Washington Electric Cooperative Inc has prepared an Environmental Review Record (ERR) for each of the projects listed above. The ERR documents the environmental review of the project. The ERR is on file and available for the public’s examination and copying, upon request, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays) at the above address.
Washington Electric Cooperative Inc plans to undertake the project described above with the Federal funds cited above. Any interested person, agency, or group wishing to comment on the project may submit written comments for consideration to Washington Electric Cooperative at the above listed address prior to April 21, 2022.
Washington Electric Cooperative certifies to the State of Ohio that Brad Peoples, in his capacity as President of Noble County Commissioners, consents to accept the jurisdiction of Federal courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied.
The legal effect of the certification is that upon its approval, Washington Electric Cooperative may use the Federal funds, and the State of Ohio will have satisfied its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
The State of Ohio will accept an objection to its approval of the release of funds and acceptance of the certification only if it is on one of the following grounds: (a) the certification was not, in fact, executed by the responsible entity’s Certifying Officer; (b) the responsible entity has failed to make one of the two findings pursuant to Section 58.40 or to make the written determination required by section 58.35, 58.47, or 58.53 for the project, as applicable; c) the responsible entity has omitted one or more of the steps set forth at subpart E of 24 CFR Part 58 for the preparation, publication, and completion of an Environmental Assessment; d) the responsible entity has omitted one or more of the steps set forth at subparts F and G of 24 CFR Part 58 for the conduct, preparation, publication, and completion of an Environmental Impact Statement; e) the recipient has committed funds or incurred costs not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before release of funds and approval of the environmental certification by the State; or f) another federal agency, acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504, has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality.
Written objections must meet the conditions and procedures set forth in subpart H of 24 CFR Part 58, and be addressed to: State of Ohio Department of Development; Office of Housing and Community Partnerships; Environmental Officer; P. O. Box 1001; Columbus, Ohio 43216-1001.
Objections to the Release of Funds on bases other than those stated above will not be considered by the State of Ohio. No objections received after May 10, 2022, will be considered by the State of Ohio.
The address of the certifying officer is:
Brad Peoples President of Noble County Commissioners
Noble County
210 Courthouse, Caldwell, OH 43724