ELYRIA — Two Eaton Township residents sued the Lorain County Rural Wastewater District on Tuesday in an effort to stop LORCO from building a proposed sewer system in parts of Eaton and Carlisle townships.

In the lawsuit, Jeffrey Milum and Donna Hicks contend the sewer system is unnecessary, isn’t economically feasible and that the LORCO board illegally removed three members six years ago.

Milum said that while he won’t be forced to connect to the sewer, many other residents will at a huge cost that will only get bigger if the 3,700 homes that LORCO is counting on developers to build don’t materialize.

“You’re not going to get 3,700 homes built in this economy,” he said.

Milum and Hicks wrote in the lawsuit, which they filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court without the aid of an attorney, that they want LORCO dissolved and a court order halting any further work on the project.

Milum also said the sewer rates that will be charged will be excessively high.

LORCO President Jim McConnell said Tuesday that the project is “financially feasible” and said the sewer rates will be far less than what Milum contends in his suit.

Although he said the 3,700 homes aren’t expected to be built overnight, developers backing the project plan to construct the homes over the next 12 to 15 years. He said the tap-in fees — $5,000 for existing homes — are reasonable and can be added to a home’s tax bill over the next 20 years.

“I recognize that these people have some genuine concerns and I don’t begrudge them the right to questions,” McConnell said. “But I think they have overstated what they believe to be the issues.”

He said that, although no work actually has been done on the project yet, LORCO is set to open construction bids on Thursday. LORCO also is waiting on a federal permit to install the sewer, although McConnell said he believes that will happen soon.

“My understanding is there’s nothing in the way of them issuing the permit except for doting some I’s and crossing some T’s,” he said.

Actual work on the project, which is estimated to cost $36 million and is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, likely will begin this summer, he said. The sewer line will run from the townships to the Avon Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The lawsuit argues that there is no pressing need to build the sewer because the Black River watershed is no longer listed as a polluted river by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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