Photo/Linda Comins Lea Harper, center, of Bowling Green, Ohio, and Bev Reed, left, of Bridgeport talk to the Belmont County Board of Health about fracking waste and air pollution. Rich Lucas, county director of environmental health, listens to their presentations.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Giving an update to the Belmont County Board of Health on the coronavirus, Robert Sproul, deputy health commissioner, said Ohio’s testing has expanded and private companies will be given the ability to conduct the screening.

On Monday, the Ohio Department of Health reported three confirmed cases in the state — all of which are in Cuyahoga County — and five persons under investigation.

Sproul attended the governor’s summit on COVID-19 in Columbus last week. Present were Gov. Mike DeWine, state cabinet heads and representatives of local health departments.

“They are all serious about tackling this and reaching out on a local level,” Sproul said Monday regarding state officials’ response to COVID-19. Resources can be found online at www.coronavirus.ohio.gov, he said.

Locally, he added, “We may see it, who knows. Whether it’s here or not here, we should be doing the same (preventive) things. We are still in the middle of flu season. … We should be doing the same things to protect those vulnerable populations.”

Also during the meeting, the board unanimously approved the health department’s 2021 budget totaling $991,500, which represents an increase from the current year.

By comparison, the county health department’s 2020 budget is $906,500 and the 2019 budget was $876,213.

Voting for the new budget were board President Elizabeth Glick and members Joel Braido, Dr. Renato DelaCruz, Dwight Jenewein, James King and Irene Louda.

In other action, the board also voted unanimously to adopt its revised bylaws and to re-appoint Dr. George L. Cholak as county health commissioner for a term expiring in January 2022.

The board held the first reading of 2020 sewage fees for small-flow septic systems. The fees are set to take effect after a second reading and board vote on April 13.

Rich Lucas, director of environmental health, said the county department is assuming authority from a state agency for small flow on-site sewage treatment systems. Affected are commercial or small business systems that produce less than 1,000 gallons of wastewater daily.

Proposed fees for this type of system are as follows: application for site review, $250; permit for installation of new or replacement system, $374; permit for alteration of existing system, $285; inspection, $104; collection and examination of effluent samples, $104 plus lab fees; site review and evaluation, $310; subdivision or lot review; $150 for the first lot plus $50 for each additional lot; septic design, $455

In other matters, Sproul said Lynn Schrum is retiring from the county health department on Aug. 1, after 14 years of service as an infectious disease nurse.

Cholak said one birth and 30 deaths occurred in Belmont County in February.

Also during the meeting, environmental advocates Lea Harper of Bowling Green, Ohio, and Bev Reed of Bridgeport returned to express concern over potential disposal of fracking waste without adequate regulations. They also spoke to the board last October.

Harper said a permit has expired for a proposed ethane storage facility in Clarington.

“If the cracker plant does come in, there will be a lot more fracking,” Reed said.

Reed said environmentalists also are working to deploy air monitors in the area. She showed board members a YouTube video of a fracking pad located next to a daycare center in St. Clairsville.

The board’s next meeting will be held at noon April 13 at the health department, 68501 Bannock Road, St. Clairsville.