Environment:

Air, toxics, waste & water information - By County
	Defiance	Paulding
	Erie	Sandusky
	Fulton	Seneca
	Henry	Williams
	Lucas	Wood
	Ottawa

Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention (OCAPP)
Helping Ohioans comply with environmental regulations and reduce waste at the source
(provides compliance and pollution prevention assistance on environmental issues related to air, land and water)
phone at 1-800-329-7518 or (614) 644-3469.

The following information covers Northwest Ohio’s air, water and land. Environmental information related to sanitary sewers can be found in the utilities section.

Air Quality
Under provisions of the Clean Air Act, which is intended to improve the quality of the air we breathe, EPA sets limits on how much of a pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the United States. The law allows individual states to have stronger pollution controls, but states are not allowed to have weaker pollution controls than those set for the whole country.

The EPA calls these pollutants "criteria air pollutants" because the agency has regulated them by first developing health-based criteria (science based guidelines) as the basis for setting permissible levels. Currently, there are six criteria pollut-ants: ozone; nitrogen oxide; sulfur dioxide; carbon monoxide; particulate matter and lead.

Standards for Ozone
The U.S. EPA previously adopted new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for both ozone and particulate matter. The EPA originally promulgated the new standards in July 1997. The EPA’s actions in adopting the new standards were challenged in court. In February 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the EPA’s actions in setting the NAAQS. Other issues related to the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act were remanded to the D.C. Circuit Court. In March 2002, the D.C. Circuit Court rejected all remaining challenges to the ozone and fine par-ticulate standards. The revised primary ozone standard lowered the ozone concen-tration limit from 0.12 parts per million (measured over one hour) to 0.08 ppm (measured over 8 hours). To attain this standard the, the 3-year average of the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average of continuous ambient air monitor-ing data over each year must not exceed 0.08 ppm.

State and local authorities will continue to monitor air quality under both the pre-vious 1-hour and new 8-hour standards, until the elimination or phase out of the 1- hour standard. Ohio Designations and Impact Ohio EPA submitted its recom-mendation to the U.S. EPA to designate 33 Ohio counties as nonattainment under the new 8-hour ozone standard. The Federal EPA is to adopt final designations by April 15, 2004.

The Ohio EPA listed all of Ohio’s major urban counties as nonattainment. Actually, all Ohio counties that have monitors in place have failed the new 8-hour standard and have been designated as non-attainment. Lucas and Wood counties in Northwest Ohio are among the 33 counties submitted as nonattainment and have previously been redesignated as attainment in 1995 under the old 1- hour standard. Lucas and Wood counties have continued to meet the 1-hour standard.

The U.S. EPA is expected to issue rules to implement the 8-hour Ozone NAAQS as of December 31, 2003. The rules will specify which statutory requirements apply for purposes of developing State implementation plans (SIPs) under the Clean Air Act to implement the 8-hour ozone NAAQS. States have primary responsibil-ity for developing and implementing state implementation plans (SIPs) that con-tain local and instate measures needed to achieve the air quality standards in each area. The state plans for ozone are due to be submitted to the U.S. EPA by April 2007.

Below is a list of Northwest Ohio counties and their current air attainment status for ozone.

Obtaining a Permit
In order to obtain an air permit, you need to contact an Ohio EPA representative that is responsible for the county in which you plan to locate the air pollution source. Lucas County businesses need to contact the City of Toledo, Environ-mental Services Department at (419) 936-3952. Businesses locating in Northwest Ohio outside of Lucas County need to contact the Ohio EPA, NW Ohio District Office in Bowling Green at (419) 373-3142. Additional information can be obtained on the State of Ohio EPA website at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/permits/permits.html

Permit information to Install (PTI) and Permit to Operate (PTO)

Source: Ohio EPA, NW Ohio District Office, June 2004

Title V Emission Fees
The 1990 federal Clean Air Act Amendments established new permitting and reporting requirements for air polluting facilities. Under Title V of the amendments, facilities that have the potential to emit certain amounts of air pollution are re-quired to apply for and obtain a state federal operating permit and pay emission fees. The Title V permit program is administered by each state's environmental agency, which uses the fees for air pollution monitoring, inspections and for providing technical assistance.

The emissions fee rules are contained in OAC chapter 3745-78 or can be found at http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=OAC. Fees are assessed on the actual amount of emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen ox-ides, organic compounds and lead. The fee for reporting year 2003 is $37.43/ton. Fees are calculated and based on a base fee of $25/ton in 1989 dollars. This fee is subject to annual increases as measured against 1989 Consumer Price Index.

Each Title V facility needs to submit a fee emission report annually to the Ohio EPA. Title V fee reports are due annually by April 15 and contain the facility's actual emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and lead for the previous calendar year. Title V Fee Report Electronic Submission Options can be found at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/starship/submit.html
Fee reports for reporting years 1996 and beyond must be compiled using DAPC's STARShip at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/starship/starinfo.html
Additional information can be found at the Ohio EPA website at http://www.epa.state.oh.us.

Water Quality
Drinking water quality in Toledo is excellent with levels of most inorganic, organic, radionuclides and chemicals residing considerably below the U.S. EPA's defined maximum contaminant levels according to the Department of Public Utili-ties 2003 Annual Water Quality Report.
Lake Erie, is today, Ohio's most valuable natural resource. The Clean Water Act of 1972 provided the impetus and framework for this to occur. Today's Lake Erie is an abundant fishery with clean beaches, an enhanced shoreline park system and new marinas. All of this was made possible by environmental efforts that include water treatment, environmental remediation and coastal development.

Storm Water/Surface Water
Whenever a municipality, industry or other entity wishes to discharge water to a surface water of the state, they must first obtain a permit from the Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water (DSW). This permit is called a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. NPDES permits regulate wastewater dis-charges by limiting the quantities of pollutants to be discharged and imposing monitoring requirements and other conditions. The limits and/or requirements in the permit help ensure compliance with Ohio's Water Quality Standards and Federal Regulations, all of which were written to protect public health and the aquatic environment.

Types of Permits
There are two types of NPDES permits; individual and general. An individual NPDES permit is unique to each facility. The limitations and requirements in an individual permit are based on the facility's operations, type and amount of dis-charge, and receiving stream, among other factors.
A general permit is one permit that covers facilities that have similar operations and type of discharge. A general NPDES permit is a potential alternative to an individual NPDES permit and affords coverage to new and existing dischargers that meet the eligibility criteria given in the general permit. General permits are used to cover discharges that will have a minimal affect on the environment.
For more information on surface water permits visit the State of Ohio EPA web-site at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/permits/gpfact.html.

Brownfields
A brownfield is an abandoned, idled or under-used industrial or commercial property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by known or potential releases of hazardous substances and/or petroleum. Ohio EPA offers opportunities for local governments, community groups, developers and environmental profes-sionals to learn more about the cleanup and reuse of brownfields. For additional information on brownfields and programs available visit the State of Ohio EPA website at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/derr/SABR/sabr.html.

Site Assessment & Brownfield Revitalization Program (SABR)
The Site Assessment & Brownfield Revitalization Program (SABR) serves as the contact for brownfields or contaminated sites not yet in any cleanup program (e.g., VAP, remedial response, Superfund, RCRA corrective action). In conjunction with the districts, SABR maintains Ohio’s public record of sites at which response actions may occur in the next year. SABR provides coordination between Ohio EPA’s District Offices and other Central Office programs. The program coordinates site assessment, oversees Ohio’s brownfields program, markets Ohio’s cleanup programs and conducts outreach and training (NEW) to local governments concerning brownfield issues. SABR is the point of coordination for grant issues. This program provides community revitalization support (CRS) to local governments in locating funding (both state and federal), determining the correct environmental program and finding technical assistance.

Clean Ohio Fund
SABR assists the Ohio Department of Development with the management of the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF) and Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF). Ohio EPA staff provides technical assistance to applicants during the application process and project implementation, assist in the review of applica-tions with regard to proposed remedies and applicable standards, and review completed cleanups for compliance with applicable standards.

Database Request
The Division of Emergency and Remedial Response (DERR) has several data-bases that are available to the public upon request. The DERR database is an index of sites throughout Ohio for which our district offices maintain files. These are also several archived databases, which are no longer maintained, of older sites.

Local Brownfield Funding
The City of Toledo has received brownfield funding for assessment, revolving loan fund and job training grants while the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority has received brownfields funding for assessment grants. For more information contact the City of Toledo, Department of Utilities Brownfield Coordinator at (419) 936-3757 or the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority at (419) 243-8251.

Wetlands
Wetlands are areas where terrestrial and aquatic systems meet and are character-ized by their water levels, dominant plant species and soil types. The areas have either shallow standing water or are saturated within the surface soils. To be considered a wetland, an area does not have to hold water all year, in fact many wetlands dry up for at least part of the year.

Before anyone can degrade a wetland, they must obtain a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification or isolated wetland permit from Ohio EPA. To disturb wetlands adjacent to other water bodies, they must also obtain a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For additional information visit at http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/cecwo/reg/sec401.htm

Grant to Conserve Wetlands in Northwest Ohio
In April 2002, Ducks Unlimited (DU) announced that a $1 million grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) will support a new wetlands initiative in Ohio. The Northwest Ohio Wetlands Initiative will be implemented in seven Ohio counties: Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, San-dusky, and Erie.

The grant will expand efforts to protect and restore threatened and degraded wetlands in Northwest Ohio. This is the first landscape scale conservation effort in this region. NAWCA is a federal grant program designed to conserve the continent's wetland resources. Every dollar invested in conservation through NAWCA must be matched by funds from state, local or private sources. DU and its partners, the Ohio Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Black Swamp Conservancy, Pheasants Forever, Citizens for Buck-eye Basin Park, and Winous Point Marsh Conservancy have worked together to match the NAWCA grant with more than $5 million to ensure the conservation of this critical habitat.

The Northwest Ohio Wetlands Initiative will fund the acquisition, restoration and enhancement of 4,000 acres of wetland and associated upland habitat. Ohio has lost more than 90 percent of its historic wetlands, yet Northwest Ohio contains some of the largest and most historically significant wetlands in the lower 48 states. Located at the crossroads of the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways, this region is an important migration, wintering and breeding area for waterfowl and other neotropical migratory birds.

Environment Links	Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention (OCAPP) (will provide free and confidential multimedia compliance and pollution prevention assistance)
	Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
	Bowling Green State University Environmental Health and Safety
	Lucas County Solid Waste Management District
	Northwest Ohio Polution Prevention