Above and Beyondingenuity, dedication and desire to succeed

Annual.Report

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Above and Beyond

Annual Report

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Above and Beyondhis year marks the

100th anniversary

of the historic flight

of Dayton, Ohio’s Wright broth-

ers. Wilbur and Orville Wright

were ordinary men who accom-

plished an extraordinary feat by

mixing vision and practicality,

inspiration and engineering.

Few of us will ever have a

chance to participate in a world-

defining moment such as this, but each of us in our own

way is working to improve our little corner of the world.

I believe that many of Ohio EPA’s employees share the

Wright brother’s ingenuity, dedication and desire

to succeed in their endeavors.

Each day, Ohio EPA’s employees devote their knowledge,

ideas and skills to keep Ohio’s environment safe and clean.

In the face of budget cuts, our employees have come to-

gether to prove their commitment to the environment. They

are working harder, coming up with ways to save money

and keeping a positive outlook while continuing to perform

thorough reviews of proposed projects and keeping

existing facilities in compliance.

Ohio EPA has one of the most educated staffs of any

state agency. Although many of our employees could

find jobs in the private sector, they’ve chosen to serve

Ohio’s citizens by working here. We are proud of our

employees and their commitment to a job well done.

In this 2003 Fiscal Year an-

nual report, we highlight some

examples of how the Agency

and staff have gone above and

beyond to make Ohio a cleaner

and more pleasant place to live.

Bob TaftGovernor

Chris JonesDirector

I n its daily business, Ohio

EPA is involved in pro-

grams that touch the lives

of all Ohioans by keeping our air,land and water clean.

Facilities regulated by Ohio

EPA have significantly reduced

toxic emissions. Plans are un-

derway to lower nitrogen oxide

emissions from utilities. Drink-

ing water treatment plants are

stepping up their security efforts. Innovative funding

programs are in place to make wastewater treatment

improvements affordable and to preserve valuable wetlands

and other water resources. Contaminated properties and

dump sites are being cleaned up.

Many of these programs at Ohio EPA are viewed as

benchmarks by environmental professionals across the

country, as you’ll see in this annual report. And because

environmental conditions don’t observe boundaries, I’m

pleased to recognize the interstate cooperation Ohio

enjoys on many key environmental issues.

For example, as chairman of the Great Lakes Council of

Governors, I am leading the Great Lakes Priorities project, a

joint effort among the Great Lakes states to establish a

comprehensive plan for restoring the Lakes. A coordinated

approach along with assistance from the federal government

will enable us to fund our priorities. I appreciate the leader-

ship of Ohio EPA Director Chris Jones and his staff on this

project.

I am confident that Ohio EPA,

along with numerous partner or-

ganizations, will continue to

make Ohio a cleaner and even

more enjoyable place to live.

ingenuity, dedication and desire to succeed

T

Division of Air Pollution ControlAs partners, the Division of Air Pollution Control (DAPC) and nine local air agencies perform func-tions designed to attain and maintain good outdoor air quality and protect public health.

National AirQuality Standards

U.S. EPA’s national standards forground level ozone (smog), carbonmonoxide, particulate matter, nitrogendioxide, sulfur dioxide and lead wereestablished to protect public health andthe environment, to define an allow-able concentration of pollutants andto restrict the number of times thestandard can be exceeded before it isconsidered a violation. To determineif the air quality meets those standards,Ohio EPA operates an extensive airquality monitoring network.

Ohio EPA currently operates 50ozone monitors in 32 counties. Dur-ing the 2002 ozone season (Aprilthrough October), Ohio EPA measured22 readings above the one-hour ozonestandard and 801 readings above theeight-hour ozone standard. From Aprilthrough June 2003, Ohio EPA mea-sured 22 readings above the one-hourozone standard and 146 readingsabove the eight-hour ozone standard.

In 1997, U.S. EPA adopted aneight-hour ozone standard, which ismore stringent than the one-hourstandard. Based on monitoring data andguidance from U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA hasproposed that 33 of Ohio’s 88 countiesbe designated nonattainment for thenew standard. These designations willbe finalized by U.S. EPA in April 2004.

Air Toxics

The division continues toimplement air toxic reductionprograms required by the Clean AirAct. The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)is used to measure the effectiveness ofthe regulatory and voluntary efforts toreduce air toxics. Ohio facilitiesreduced toxic air emissions by 58percent between 1992 and 2001.

Ohio EPA also implements the riskmanagement planning program, whichrequires industries to develop plans toprevent accidental releases to the airand to mitigate the consequences ofreleases that do occur. It focuses onprevention measures for chemicalsthat pose the greatest risk to the publicand environment. Approximately 500facilities have filed risk managementplans with Ohio EPA. In State FiscalYear 2003 (SFY’03), Ohio EPAconducted 65 compliance inspectionsto ensure that these plans are in place.

In addition to these activities, OhioEPA also conducts specialized air toxicsmonitoring studies. During SFY’03,studies ranged from air quality assess-ments of general communities to in-vestigations for potential health im-pacts from higher air pollution emis-sion areas. In response to requestsfrom other Ohio EPA divisions, stateand local health departments, the divi-sion continues to conduct indoor airtoxic monitoring studies to evaluatepotential vapor intrusion from under-ground soil and water plumes. Thedivision also coordinates with U.S. EPA,Center of Disease Control (CDC), andthe Agency of Toxics Substances Dis-ease Registry (ATSDR) to provide dataand review reports regarding varioushealth consultations and exposure in-vestigations performed by ATSDR.

Issuance of Permits

In SFY’03, the division issued 998permits-to-install, 560 permits-to-op-erate, 65 draft Title V permits and 165final Title V permits. Two internal pro-cess improvement groups are studyingthe effects of implementing a perma-nent combination of fee emission re-porting and emission inventory systemreporting requirements and possiblechanges to permit-to-operate and

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permit-to-install review and issuance,emphasizing ways to combineprocesses and/or permits. Thedivision also began implementingchanges recommended earlier by fourprocess improvement groups. Theseimprovements include: developing aplan for consolidating data for OhioEPA’s State Air Resources System(STARS); studying and recommend-ing changes to permit applications;developing a plan to create and imple-ment one easily accessible, compre-hensive terms and conditions library;and improving guidance and outreachefforts for Non-Title V fee processing.The division is also participating infour permitting process improvementgroups with industry.

Compliance Assistanceto Small Businesses

The Small Business AssistanceProgram (SBAP) provides free andconfidential technical assistance tosmall businesses to increase under-standing and compliance with airpollution regulations. The SBAPprovides information about regulationsand permit requirements, conductson-site audits on request and assists incompleting air permit applications.In SFY’03, the SBAP provided on-siteassistance to 215 companies in 34counties. In addition, the SBAP helpedsmall businesses complete 224 air per-mit applications, saving them time,money and resources.

E-Check

The Mobile Sources Sectionoversees the contractor-operatedvehicle emissions inspection program,known as E-Check, in the Cleveland/Akron, Dayton and Cincinnati areas.

The goal is to encourage motorists toroutinely maintain the emissioncontrol equipment on their vehicles toreduce the release of pollutants thatform ozone. In SFY’03, 1,896,274vehicles were tested. Vehicles that failtheir first test and pass later afterrepairs are made, show an averageemission improvement of 85 percentfor hydrocarbon and 91 percent forcarbon monoxide.

Since the inception of OhioEPA 30 years ago, levels of allmonitored air pollutants havedropped substantially.

Ohio EPA’s 30-year air qualitytrends report analyzes air monitoringdata collected between 1972 and2001 for six pollutants for whichnational air quality standards have

been set by U.S. EPA. They includecarbon monoxide, lead, ozone,nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide andparticulate matter. Ohio EPAmaintains one of the mostextensive air monitoring networksin the country with monitoringconducted at more than 200locations around the state.

Annual Toxic Release Inventory Shows Decrease in Overall Releases

According to the Toxic Release Inventory report released during SFY’03, there was a major decrease in theamount of toxic releases to Ohio’s environment in 2001. The 13.4 percent drop is the largest in the four yearssince non-manufacturing facilities have been included in the report. This is the fourth consecutive year the totalreleases have been reduced.

The 15th annual report included about 6,600 TRI reports from more than 1,700 facilities statewide. Leadand lead compounds were added as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic compounds, known as PBTs. A newrule, with a few exceptions, reduces the reporting threshold for lead to 100 pounds. This resulted in an additional400 reports compared to 2000. However, even with the additional lead and lead compound forms filed, the totalreleases and transfers of lead and lead compounds decreased between 2000 and 2001.

PBT chemicals were included in the report for the second year. PBTs are chemicals that remain in theenvironment for a long period of time, are not readily destroyed and can accumulate in body tissue. The reportingthreshold for PBT chemicals is significantly lower than the typical reporting amounts.

A total of 667 separate chemicals and chemical categories must be reported. Each year, regulated facilitiesmust report to Ohio EPA and U.S. EPA the amount of toxic substances they release to the environment, treat orotherwise manage on-site or transfer off-site for treatment, disposal or other management. The TRI report is acompilation of that data. It does not indicate the degree to which people may be exposed to these substances.Not all material that is released to the environment results in exposure to people. Permits issued to industrial andutility facilities by Ohio EPA regulate the amount of toxic releases allowed in order to maintain environmentalstandards.

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The air quality report includes the following findings:

• Sites monitored for carbon monoxide levels show an average reductionof more than 70 percent since 1972.

• Sites monitored for sulfur dioxide have shown an average drop of 90percent in the past 30 years.

• Sites monitored for nitrogen dioxide pollution have shown an averagedrop of 22 percent since 1974.

• Ozone levels in Ohio have been reduced by 27 percent since 1972.

• U.S. EPA has changed lead monitoring requirements to discontinuetraffic-oriented lead sites. Lead levels decreased by more than 95 percentduring the 1979-1998 period.

• Particulates 10 microns in diameter or smaller (PM10) decreased by 24percent from 1989 through 2001. Fine particulate matter (2.5 microns),has only been monitored since 1999 and several years of data arerequired to establish a trend.

Ohio’s Air Quality Continues to Improve,According to Ohio EPA Data

Division of Drinking and Ground Waters

The Division of Drinking and Ground Waters (DDAGW) protects human health and the environmentby characterizing and protecting ground water quality and ensuring Ohio’s public water systems provideadequate quantities of safe drinking water.

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Monitoring PublicWater Systems

The division provides oversightand technical assistance to nearly5,600 public water systems. DuringState Fiscal Year 2003 (SFY’03), thedivision conducted almost 2,200 on-site inspections; reviewed and ap-proved approximately 1,450 detailplans for new and existing water sys-tems; reviewed approximately 25,500chemical and more than 150,000 mi-crobiological water quality results; pro-vided technical assistance; and assistedwater systems during potential con-tamination incidences. A large major-ity of Ohio’s public water systems con-tinued to meet health standards, withmore than 99 percent of the publicwater systems in compliance withchemical standards and 88 percent ofsystems in compliance with the micro-biological standards.

Ground Water

To address ground water protec-tion and remediation more consis-tently, division staff provide geologicand hydrogeologic support to OhioEPA’s waste management divisions.The staff reviews ground water-relatedpermits and develops ground water-re-lated guidance and rules. DuringSFY’03, division staff completed 2,865technical support projects for OhioEPA’s waste management divisions.

Working Together

In an effort to enhance operations,division staff have been working witha subcommittee of the Drinking WaterAdvisory Committee to identify

improvements to the drinking waterfacility engineering plan reviewprocess. This group will finalize areport and action plan in late summerof 2003.

Division staff initiated 1,350Source Water Assessment and Protec-tion reports and completed and for-warded 750 reports to public watersystem officials for review. These re-ports identify drinking water sourceprotection areas and outline potentialthreats and procedures for reducingand handling them. To date, 75 percentof Ohio’s community public water sys-tems have completed reports.

Staff continue to partner with theDivision of Surface Water in develop-ing Ohio’s methodology for assessingthe drinking water beneficial use forthe Agency’s Integrated Water QualityMonitoring and Assessment Report,required by the Clean Water Act. Thedivision continued to administer andparticipate in the State CoordinatingCommittee on Ground Water and ac-tivities of the Ohio Water ResourceCouncil. These groups have providedan opportunity to coordinate groundand drinking water issues with otherfederal, state and local agencies, as wellas gain an understanding of prioritywater protection issues for stakehold-ers.

Financial Assistance

The Drinking Water AssistanceFund issued 17 loans totaling more than$56.5 million to assist public watersystems with infrastructure needs. Thelargest loan was issued to the City ofCleveland for $31.6 million.

Enforcement

The division issued five consentorders with total penalties of $10,000.The orders also contained $16,100 insupplemental environmental projects.The division issued two unilateral find-ings and orders with $47,250 assessed.Other enforcement actions included16 bilateral compliance agreementsand four actions through the AttorneyGeneral’s Office with $213,800 in pen-alties assessed.

UndergroundInjection Control

During SFY’03, the UndergroundInjection Control (UIC) programemphasized regulation of Class Iinjection wells, Class V motor vehiclewaste disposal wells, large capacitycesspools and Class V wells locatedwithin the influence of public drinkingwater supply wells. Class I wells injectwaste 2,000 to 6,000 feet below anyunderground source of drinking water(USDW). Class V wells are used toinject non-hazardous fluids into orabove a USDW. There are more than15,500 Class V wells inventoried inOhio, and tens of thousands more aresuspected. UIC staff inspected all 12of Ohio’s Class I injection wells and 252facilities potentially containing Class Vinjection wells. UIC also closed 12Class V injection wells and sent noticesof violation concerning 103 other ClassV injection wells. The program sentnotices to 442 facilities suspected ofhaving motor vehicle waste disposalwells and identified 529 Class V wellswithin the influence of a public watersupply well.

Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance

The Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance (DEFA) supports the development of a varietyof environmentally beneficial projects through financial and technical assistance.

Water PollutionControl Loan Fund(WPCLF)

During SFY ‘03, the fund was ac-tive in assisting improvements forwastewater treatment works. TheWPCLF financed more than $214 mil-lion in low-interest loans, saving Ohiocommunities more than $59.8 million.

In addition to the traditional assis-tance provided to improve wastewatercollection and treatment systems,the WPCLF also provided financingto address nonpoint source pollutioncontrol needs. The WPCLF’s linkeddeposit programs made six loansto homeowners in Mahoning andCuyahoga counties totaling $78,795for improved sanitation through homesewage treatment system upgrades.

Nonpoint source water pollutionis a general term that includes pollut-ants such as sediment, nitrogen, phos-phorous, pesticides, human and animalwastes that are washed into receivingwaters by rain and snow melt.Nonpoint source pollution results froma variety of land use practices such asagriculture, forestry, home wastewatertreatment systems, construction sites,surface mines and urban yards androadways. Although it originates frommany sources over relatively large ar-eas, nonpoint source pollution is con-trollable through the implementationof best management practices. DuringSFY’03, the division awarded 128 loansto private agricultural producers total-ing $3.8 million for the implementa-tion of some of these best manage-ment practices to control nonpointsource water pollution.

More than $12.4 million wasawarded for five projects around thestate through the Water Resource Res-toration Sponsor Program (WRRSP).

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WPCLF Financial Assistance SFY 2003

Project Number Total Loan PercentType of Loans Amount $ of Total

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Works*- Standard Communities 33 208,232,193 90.32 - Small Communities 4 1,850,767 0.80 - Hardship Communities 11 1,850,767 1.74

Nonpoint Source: - Agriculture-cropland 128 3,810,403 1.65 - Agriculture-animals 2 98,500 0.04 - Urban (on-site system) 6 78,795 0.03- WRRSP* - 12,485,000 5.42

Totals 184 230,565,069 100

* Five Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Projects (WRRSP) are included inawards to Municipal Wastewater Treatment Works Standard Communities.

This resulted in the protection andrestoration of aquatic habitats inseveral water resources, includingwetlands associated with PickeringtonPonds in central Ohio, Bass Lake innortheast Ohio and the MiddleCuyahoga River. See the associatedsidebar for more information aboutthis innovative and nationally ac-claimed program.

Village CapitalImprovement Fund(VCIF)

The VCIF provided interest-freeloans totaling $522,000 to 15 villagesto assist in planning and design ofwastewater treatment and public watersupply facilities. These loans savedvillages with limited resources up to$73,000 in interest.

Ohio PowerSiting Board

Economic problems in the energyindustry slowed new power generationapplications in Ohio. However, manypreviously approved Ohio Power Sit-ing Board projects were well intoconstruction last year, some of whichposed serious construction-relatedenvironmental issues needing resolu-tion. The previous generation projectsalso produced new gas pipeline andelectric transmission line applicationsthis past year. In 2003, division staffreviewed more than 25 projects andhelped assess and evaluate construc-tion methodologies and prescribeeffective restoration techniques tolessen the effect these projects have onOhio’s environment.

Water SupplyRevolving LoanAccount (WSRLA)

In its fifth year of operation, Ohio’sdrinking water revolving loan fundawarded loans to 17 water supplysystems totaling more than $56.5million for improvements to ensure thequality of their drinking water.

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The original purpose of the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) was to finance publicly ownedwastewater treatment works to reduce point source pollution. Since the program began, many of the nation’s pointsource problems have been addressed. Now, Ohio is starting to focus more money and effort into reducing nonpointsource pollution and addressing the associated loss of ecological function and biological diversity that jeopardizethe health of Ohio’s water resources.

The Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP) provides an opportunity for WPCLF fundingrecipients to finance planning and implementation of additional projects that address nonpoint source pollution.Funding and completion of these projects helps to protect or restore water resources. Restoration activities mayrange from the preservation and protection to intensive repair and recovery of affected stream and aquatic habitats.WPCLF recipients can initiate projects themselves or sponsor approved projects planned by another group, suchas a land trust, park district, or other entity with the ability to protect and manage such resources. The cost of theWRRSP project or sponsorship amount is added to the requested WPCLF loan amount. In return for sponsoringthe project, the WPCLF loan recipient’s interest rate is reduced to offset the principal and interest costs of theWRRSP project. An additional reduction of 0.1 percent further benefits the loan recipient and encouragesparticipation in the WRRSP.

U.S. EPA headquarters has recognized this program and other states, including Oregon and Iowa, are developingsimilar programs. In addition, the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals hasreleased a set of materials to help communities address water quality impacts of sprawl. This “Smart Growth forClean Water” publication identifies Ohio’s WRRSP as an innovative approach and application of the Clean WaterState Revolving Fund.

“The Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program is a great example of how Ohio EPA is going above andbeyond to combine partnerships and creative thinking to benefit the environment,” said Ohio EPA DirectorChristopher Jones. “I’m proud that other states and organizations are using our program as a guide to developsimilar protection plans.”

Two projects financed during the 2003 State Fiscal Year include the acquisition of Bass Lake by the Trust forPublic Land and the Geauga County Park District and a loan to the Franklin County Metro Parks to significantlyenhance Pickerington Ponds in Canal Winchester. Since October 2000, Ohio EPA has provided more than $35million to projects that have protected or restored approximately 38 miles of stream corridors and 4,000 acres ofwetlands.

Innovative Program Protects Water Resources

Division of Emergency and Remedial ResponseThe Division of Emergency and Remedial Response (DERR) supports a variety of activities to helpreduce and address chemical and petroleum hazards in Ohio. The division’s responsibilities includeradiation safety; spill prevention, control and countermeasures; special investigations; site investigationand assessment; brownfield revitalization; orphan drum removals; emergency response; remedial response;and the Voluntary Action Program.

drums, custody of the building wasturned over to the City of Colum-bus.

• ER continues to provide an impor-tant public service by collectingcontainers of mercury for recy-cling from private homes, medicalfacilities, local communities andschools.

ER remains very active in state andfederal workgroups to address coordi-nated responses to terrorism andweapons of mass destruction inci-dents. ER received a grant from the U.S.Department of Justice for $194,416 topurchase field equipment.

Clean OhioRevitalization Fund

Brownfields are former businessor industrial sites that may be contami-nated with a hazardous substance as aresult of past land use. This potentialcontamination often hinders the ex-pansion, redevelopment or reuse ofproperties. The Clean Ohio Revitaliza-tion Fund is a statewide competitive

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The Emergency Response (ER)program responds to sudden releasesof hazardous materials, petroleum andradiation. ER partners with local andstate emergency management officialsto minimize and prevent releases to theenvironment.

ER received 9,543 calls duringState Fiscal Year 2003 (SFY’03),fielded 5,065 incident reports andresponded to 1,020 spills.Listed below are just a fewof the significant incidents:

• An actively leaking railtank car full of 2-me-thyl hexyl chlorofor-mate was found in aswitchyard in Spencer,O h i o . ( M e d i n aCounty). Nearby resi-dents were evacuatedand ER staff workedwith the railroad andtank owner for twodays to abate the release to the en-vironment and institute clean upactions to remediate the spilledchemical.

• A gasoline tanker carrying 8,500gallons of gasoline overturned onI-71 near Lebanon during anextremely heavy snowfall inFebruary. Responders were able totap the four compartments andremove most of the gasolinewithout incident. The smallamount released was captured bypre-placed dams.

• Staff assisted U.S. EPA and its con-tractor in removing thousands ofcontainers of lab chemicals fromNalin-Neveu Memorial Laboratory.After removal of the chemicals inapproximately 225 lab-pack

program that awards grants forbrownfield clean up activities whichare a key component in brownfield re-development. The first round of theClean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF)ended in July 2002. The 13-memberClean Ohio Council provided$39,953,748 to 17 projects across thestate. Over the next 2.5 years, the prop-erties will be cleaned up and redevel-

oped, providing eco-nomic benefits to thelocal communities.The second round ofthe CORF began inJune 2003. There are24 local govern-ments competing foran additional $40million in cleanupgrants.

RemedialResponse

The remedial response programassesses contaminated sites and deter-mines if they are safe for their intendeduse. The remedial response programprovided oversight of investigations orcleanups at more than 180 state-led,Superfund and federal facility sites inSFY’03. In addition, this program con-ducted oversight activities at 68 sitesin the operation and maintenancephase of cleanup. Of particular note:

• A consensual agreement wasreached with Bison Corp. to installventilation systems in homesdown-gradient of the facility inCanton. This interim action willmitigate potential indoor air risksfrom releases of trichloroethylene(TCE).

During weather-related emergencies and activations ofthe state’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), divisionstaff coordinate efforts related to debris, public watersupplies, sewage overflows and other environmental issues.In November 2002, a tornado swept through northwestOhio causing an estimated $9.5 million in damages. In March2003, ice storms gripped southern Ohio resulting in anestimated $20 million in damages. Division staff workedclosely with local and state partners during both of theseemergencies.

• The Scioto County Court of Com-mon Pleas rendered a decisionrequiring New Boston Coke Corp.to comply with its environmentalobligations, including defining thenature and extent of contamina-tion at its closed facility in NewBoston.

• A memorandum of agreement wassigned with the Department of theInterior (DOI) outlining roles foreach agency during oversight ofthe cleanup at the Krecji DumpSite. DOI is the lead agency for thissite.

VoluntaryAction Program

The Voluntary Action Program(VAP) provides tools to the privatesector so they can voluntarily clean upand return land to productive use.Volunteers who seek state release fromfuture liability must demonstrate thatthe property meets state cleanupstandards by submitting information toOhio EPA documenting that thestandards have been met.

Ohio EPA approved two UrbanSetting Designations (USDs) in SFY’03,both in Cuyahoga County. A USD maybe awarded when cleaning the groundwater to drinking water standards is not

necessary because it will not be usedfor drinking water. The sites arelocated in highly urbanized areas withcommunity water systems that supplysafe drinking water to surroundingresidents. Any other exposuresto contaminated ground water,such as to surface water or wildlife,must.still.be.addressed.

During SFY‘03, the VAP issued 17covenants not to sue to propertiesacross the state: six in the NorthwestDistrict, five in the Northeast District,three in the Southeast District, two inthe Central District, and one in theSouthwest District. In addition, nineproperties entered the Memorandumof Agreement Track of the VAP. This

track provides vol-unteers with a re-lease from futurestate and federalliability providedth a t . a d d i t i o n a lo p p o r t u n i t i e sfor.public involve-ment and over-sight.by Ohio.EPAstaff.are..includ-e d . d u r i n g . t h ecleanup process.

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Ohio EPA Issues 100th Covenant UnderVoluntary Action Program

In November 2002, Ohio EPA awarded the 100th covenant not to sue under theVoluntary Action Program, which encourages property owners, lenders anddevelopers to investigate and clean up contaminated properties in Ohio.

Ohio EPA issued the covenant to Good Enterprises Ltd., also knownas Liniform Service, after determining a voluntary cleanup conducted at theproperty, located at 1050-1060 Northview Avenue in Barberton (SummitCounty), met environmental standards for industrial redevelopment.

The family-owned company has operated as an industrial laundryfacility on the approximately 2.2 acre property since 1980. Several drycleaning businesses have operated at the site since 1924.

Liniform Service received two low-interest loans from Ohio EPA to study and cleanup the site, saving approximately $42,000 compared to conventional financing.

“This is not a program just for major corporations,” Jones said. “Ohio EPA can providefunding and advice to make a successful cleanup possible for small businesses, too.”

Reggie Brown, left, and Bruce Miller, right, of the Division of Emergency andRemedial Response help two students try on protective clothing and equipmentused for hazardous materials response.

Division of Hazardous Waste Management

Cessation of RegulatedOperations Program

When certain businesses close,they must first remove hazardouschemicals from their property. If leftbehind, these chemicals may cause en-vironmental and human health hazardsand can result in higher.cleanupcosts.and.potentially. creat a contami-nated.brownfield.site.

During SFY’03, the Agencyconducted 65 inspections of facil-ities that permanently ceased theirregulated operations. The Agency

also granted exten-sions to four facili-ties to allow themmore time to com-plete removal activi-ties for a moreorderly. c losure .of.operations.

PollutionPrevention(P2)Activities

The division is conducting manyactivities to assist industries inreducing and preventing wastegeneration. The division has fullyintegrated P2 into division activities,p a r t i c u l a r l y. i n . e n fo rc e m e n t ,inspections and permits.

Inspectors promote and identifyP2 opportunities when they conducthazardous waste inspections. As partof the division’s technical assistance,staff are conducting P2 assessments tohelp Ohio companies identify andimplement practices to reduce wastegeneration. This service, provided withthe assistance of Ohio EPA’s Office ofPollution Prevention, is a key strategyfor achieving one of the division’s long-

Post-Closureand PermittingAccomplishments

The 1993 Government Perfor-mance and Results Act (GPRA)stresses accountability and resultsfrom federal agencies including U.S.EPA. In complying with the GPRA andmanaging the post-closure and permit-ting programs to produce results, U.S.EPA created goals for safe waste man-agement at certain post-closure andpermitted facilities. This group con-sists of treatment, stor-age or disposal facilitieswith at least one landdisposal unit thatceased operating be-fore October 1, 1997,and did not clean closeby that date. The goalof both the division andU.S. EPA is that by2005, 80 percent ofthese existing hazard-ous waste managementfacilities will have ap-proved controls inplace to prevent releases to air, soil andground water. U.S. EPA also institutedintermediate milestones that statesmust meet in order to show an accept-able rate of progress in achieving thegoal.

Closure(Cleanups of HazardousWaste Management Units)

In SFY’03, the division’s hazardouswaste closure program accepted 17certifications of closure completionthat resulted in the removal and prop-er off-site disposal of approximately240 tons of hazardous waste. Theseclosure activities also required the re-moval and proper management of

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more than 53,000 tons of contaminat-ed material and debris. In addition, thedivision approved 26 closure plansto implement closure and decontami-nation activities.for.other.hazardouswaste.units.across.the.state.

Permitting

T h e . d i v i s i o n’ s . p e r m i t t i n gprogram issued seven hazardouswaste renewal permits and processed182 minor permit modifications and22.major.permit.modifications.

Outreach

The division completed severalimprovements to its Web site, one ofwhich was the introduction of a searchfeature for written technical assistancedeterminations. Another improvementwas making draft renewal permitactions available. In addition, thedivision created an electronic newsservice for its stakeholders, a servicethat is now being implemented in otherOhio EPA divisions. This serviceprovides stakeholders with timelyupdates on events and news related tohazardous waste activities in Ohio andis part of the division’s continuingeffort to improve communication.

The division received national recognition at the 2003Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste ManagementOfficials meeting in April 2003. U.S. EPA headquartersrecognized the division for outstanding accomplishmentsduring the 2002 fiscal year in the area of GovernmentPerformance and Results Act (GPRA) permitting goals forpost-closures in place. The division ranked third nationallyfor output during the year and received a plaque from U.S. EPA.

term goals. Benefits from division-ledP2 assessments have included reducedwaste generation and increased costsavings for participating companies.During SFY’03, the division completed10 P2 assessments and provided morethan 160 written P2 suggestions in in-spection letters.

Assuring Compliance

Two important components of thedivision’s compliance assurance pro-gram include the use of inspections toverify compliance and operation of astrong enforcement program for com-panies not in compliance. Timely en-forcement provides a deterrent to non-compliance and helps level the playingfield for those who have not allocatednecessary resources to comply withhazardous waste rules.

During SFY’03, the division re-solved 26 administrative enforcementactions resulting in more than$575,000 in assessed civil penalties.

Approximately $29,000 of this wascredited toward supplemental environ-mental projects such as using nonhaz-ardous solvents and recycling hazard-ous waste. In addition, 12 companieswere referred to the Ohio AttorneyGeneral for enforcement. These en-forcement efforts resulted in theproper treatment and disposal of ap-proximately 12,000 tons of hazardouswaste and/or contaminated media.

RegulatoryServices Unit

During SFY’03, the RegulatoryServices Unit gave eight presentationsreaching 400 people. Information pre-sented included the proper manage-ment of electronic equipment; theproper management of fluorescentlamps; the proper management of usedoil; and overall compliance with haz-ardous waste regulations.

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Unit staff also answered 521 tech-nical assistance-related phone calls,replied to 26 written requests forinformation and replied to 36 e-mails.

For help understanding thehazardous waste regulations, pleasecall (614) 644-2917 or e-mail jeff.mayhugh@epa.state.oh.us.

Long-Term Goals

During the past year, the divisionundertook a strategic planning effortto re-evaluate and update its programlong-term goals. These goals will serveas the foundation for annual planningefforts for the next several years. Thegoals can be found on the division’sWeb site at www.epa.state.oh.us/dhwm/. ..

If hazardous waste is not properlymanaged, expensive cleanupprojects could result.

ria to award bids for scrap tire clean-ups to companies that reuse or recyclethe.tires...........................

One million dollars a year fromthe scrap tire fees is directed to theDivision of Litter Control and Recy-cling at the Ohio Department ofNatural.Resources. That programfunds projects that will strengthenmarkets that recycle scrap tires col-lected in Ohio.

The sixth state-funded scrap tireabatement project continued to focusprimarily on the Kirby scrap tire site inWyandot County. Work at this, thelargest scrap tire cleanup site in Ohio,continued with a total of 3,001,872passenger tire equivalents (PTE = 20pounds of tire material) removedduring SFY’03. This brings the totalscrap tires removed from the Kirbysite to 8,762,388 PTEs since July1999. There are an estimated 11million tires remaining at the site thatwill be removed over the next 4 years.

Five scrap tire sites had been per-formed prior to the Kirby scrap tire firein August 1999, which consumed allof the money available from the scraptire fee at that time. Additional fund-ing, provided by a fee increase on eachtire sold in Ohio from $0.50 per tire to$1.00 per tire, allowed for the accel-eration of the Kirby cleanup. The feeincrease also enabled the Agencyto pursue additional priority.scraptire.cleanups.in.the.state.

The first additional site andseventh.state-funded site wasthe Timco site inHarrison County.A.total.of.484,309.PTEs were re-moved from thesite. The eighthsite was the Kayssite in Portage

County, where a total of 559,376 PTEswere removed. The cleanup of a ninthsite, the Vasi site in Lorain County, re-moved 574,232 PTEs. .

The.total number of PTEs re-moved using Ohio’s scrap tirefee.during SFY’03.was 4,357,580PTEs from four sites (Harrison, Por-tage, Lorain, and Wyandot counties).In just six years, the total number ofscrap tires cleaned up using Ohio’sscrap tire fee exceeds 18 million PTEsfrom 10 separate sites. The enforce-ment of Ohio EPA’s scrap tire regula-tions, in cooperation with Ohio’s localhealth departments and solid wastemanagement districts has resulted inthe clean up, without the use of Ohio’sscrap tire fee, of approximately 8 mil-lion additional tires from 79 other ille-gal scrap tire.dumps since 1996, whenthe rules.were.enacted. .

Solid and InfectiousWaste ManagementSystem (SIIMAN)Update

SIIMAN is the division’s informa-tion management system used to man-age and track permit, registrationapplications,.license applications.andrelated information. The system alsoallows field staff to build comprehen-sive facility compliance histories basedon recorded data concerning facility in-spection activities and related corre-spondence. The SIIMAN system usesthis information, as well as data gath-ered from regulated facility annualreports, solid waste management dis-trict quarterly fee reports and solidwaste management district annualsummaries, to produce Ohio EPA’s an-nual facility data, fee summary andplanning summary reports.

Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management

Composting Rules

The new composting rules be-came effective on June 1, 2003. Theserules should promote greater utiliza-tion of composting in Ohio. The ruleswere written with a feedstock-based(waste streams) approach to providegreater flexibility to composting facili-ties. Accordingly, the type of feedstockdetermines applicable operationalrequirements and quality standards forthe resulting compost product. Thenew rules expand the number oforganic materials (feedstocks, bulkingagents, and additives) that owners andoperators can accept at their facilitiesand provide options for new organicmaterials that may be suitable forcomposting.

Scrap Tire Abatement

Ohio EPA uses Ohio’s scrap tirefees collected on each tire sold in Ohiofor scrap tire removal projects. Own-ers or operators of illegal scrap tiredumps are ordered to remove thetires and recycle or dispose of themproperly. If these companies or indi-viduals fail to remove the tires in com-pliance with a specified removal sched-ule, Ohio EPA hires a contractor tocomplete the removal, then pursuescost recovery in the courts against theresponsible individual. In accordancewith Ohio law, Ohio EPA created crite-

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A windrow turner remixes a composting windrowconsisting of animal manure, animal bedding and straw.

In SFY’03, staff produced acompact disc of the SIIMAN Data EntryModule applications for distribution tothe public, local health departmentsand the regulated community. Thisallows them to electronically submitannual reports, inspection reports,registration applications, licenseapplications and solid waste districtreports. Copies of the software weremass produced and made available tocustomers free of charge. The softwarecan be ordered through an online orderform, by mail or by telephone.

Enforcement

A number of improvements havealready been instituted and others arein development. The division has re-viewed the use of available resourcesto address solid and infectious wasteviolations and is implementing a strat-egy to increase the use of local healthdepartments and prosecutors to ad-dress violations. Better utilization of allavailable resources will increase the ef-ficiency of the state in addressingviolations........................

Inspection and enforcementmanuals were revised, updated and dis-tributed. A newly formed workgroupwill develop a new civil penalty policyto increase consistency and reducesubjectivity in the calculation of civilpenalties. New enforcement initiativeswere undertaken to address similarviolations at multiple facilities acrossthe state.............................................

Of the seven cases in the solidwaste program that would be twoyears old by the end of 2002, all butone were resolved. There was acorresponding drop in the averageage of pending cases by 178 days. Thedivision now averages administrativeresolutions in less than a year. The solidwaste program met its goal to issue 15orders in 2002. The division assessed$863,347 in civil penalties ($809,027by the AGO and $134,160 inadministrative penalties). .

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Timco, Inc.

During the cleanup of this five-acre illegal dump site in HarrisonCounty, 484,309 PTEs were re-moved. Central Ohio Contractorshauled the whole scrap tires toKimble Clay and Limestone SanitaryLandfill in Tuscarawas County to beprocessed and reused to constructthe leachate collection system in anew phase of the landfill.

Kays’ Tire Dump Site

This 15-acre wooded site, located along Alliance Road in DeerfieldTownship (Portage County) was originally estimated to contain more thanone million scrap tires. Original estimates were high. Because only 559,376PTEs were actually present, the contractors, C&E Coal and Liberty TireServices of Ohio, completed the tire removal under cost and ahead ofschedule. The unspent balance from the original project bid was used forscrap tire removal projects at other sites.

A separate contract for mosquito spraying was awarded to Fisher’sAg Services. The company conducted aerial spraying of both the Kays’ andnearby McMasters’ dump sites throughout the summer.

As part of the removal, C & E Coal hauled approximately two-thirds ofthe whole tires to a mobile scrap tire recovery facility located at its scraptire monofill near Minerva (Stark County). Liberty Tire Services of Ohiobrought a mobile recovery facility to the dump site to shred the remainingtires. The shredded tires were transported to A & L Salvage, Inc., a con-struction and demolition debris landfill located near Lisbon (ColumbianaCounty), to construct the leachate collection system in a new phase oflandfill.

Vasi Scrap Tire Site

Liberty Tire Services of Ohio contracted to clean up this site located inElyria, Ohio. A total of 421,264 whole tires and 152,968 shredded PTEswere removed from the site.

The whole tires were taken to a mobile scrap tire recovery facility lo-cated at a scrap tire monofill near Minerva (Stark County). After shredding,the tires were transported to A & L Salvage, Inc., a construction and demo-lition debris landfill located near Lisbon (Columbiana County), to constructthe leachate collection system of a new phase at the landfill. The existingshredded tires at the site were sorted and the dirtiest shreds were disposedat a licensed solid waste landfill, while the cleaner shreds were disposed ata licensed tire monofill.

The cost of the tire removal totaled $419,265 and was paid for usingOhio’s scrap tire fees. Cost recovery actions have been initiated by OhioEPA and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office (AGO). In addition, civil finesof $125,000 were imposed in November 2002, by the Lorain Court ofCommon Pleas against Elyria Acquisition Company No.1 and Mary KaySzabo. The owners remain responsible for the final remediation of the site.

Major Tire Cleanups Completed During SFY’03

Total MaximumDaily Load (TMDL)

The Total Maximum Daily Load(TMDL) program, established underSection 303(d) of the Clean Water Act,focuses on identifying and restoringpolluted surface water. A TMDL isa written, quantitative assessmentof water quality problems, contribut-ing sources of pollution and pro-posed actions necessary for resto-ration and.protection.................

TMDL projects are underway inapproximately 20 percent of Ohio’swatersheds. .Ohio’s.systematicapproach to restoring impaired watersenhances traditional requirementswith comprehensive monitoring andfollow-up implementation. This pastyear, four TMDL watershed projectswere approved by U.S. EPA......

. . . . .Ohio accounts for 61 percentOhio accounts for 61 percentOhio accounts for 61 percentOhio accounts for 61 percentOhio accounts for 61 percentof all completed TMDLof all completed TMDLof all completed TMDLof all completed TMDLof all completed TMDLprojects in Region 5. projects in Region 5. projects in Region 5. projects in Region 5. projects in Region 5. . . . . .

Staff conducted monitor-ing and assessment activities infive watersheds and continuedproject development in coop-eration with stakeholders for26 active projects. In addition,the division submitted to U.S.EPA the Integrated Water Qual-ity Report 2002. The updatedreporting format presents wa-ter quality status and conditioninformation by watershed (pre-viously reported by streamsegment). This report also pro-vides the latest update toOhio’s list of impaired wa-ters..............

Discharge PermitBacklog Update

On average, the divisionissues approximately 65 majorpermits and 550 minor per-mits each year. The backlog iscalculated as the number ofpermits expired six months orless divided by the total num-ber of permits. U.S. EPAconsiders a state to have elimi-nated the backlog if the back-log is 10 percent or less. ..

NonpointSource Program

The nonpoint source programcollaborated with many partners andstakeholders to aggressively addressthe leading sources of water qualityimpairment to Ohio streams. This pastyear, the nonpoint source programprovided more than $4 million in CleanWater Act grants for watershedprojects. This investment, matched byapproximately $3 million in localcommitments, helps support morethan 30 local planning and 12restoration projects to restore impairedwaters in those watersheds. SinceOhio’s restoration needs far exceedavailable funds, Ohio EPA and OhioDepartment of Natural Resourcesstaff are working hard to find newpartners and funding sources forrestoration and preservation projects.

Division of Surface Water

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Discharge Permit Backlog Eliminated

Ohio now leads the states in Region 5 for the elimination of backlog ofdischarge permits. For the past four years, the division has met or exceededpermit issuance goals and eliminated the backlog of expired dischargepermits. As of July 1, 2003, the backlog for both major and minor permitswas under 10 percent.

End of: MAJORS MINORSSFY’99 50% 44%SFY’00 36% 27%SFY’01 22% 22%SFY’02 22% 17%SFY’03 10% 10%

In September 2002, representatives from theProgramme for Belize accompanied Division ofSurface Water staff to observe Ohio EPA’sbiological assessment techniques. LinetteGomez of Belize holds a 38-pound carpelectrofished out of Griggs Reservoir inColumbus. Ohio EPA employee Roger Thomahelps her hold it as Victor Alegria of Belizewatches.

Internally, the division is workingcloser than ever with other divisionsto align program objectives andresources.

Primary HeadwaterStream Initiative

The division conducted commu-nity outreach on the headwater streaminitiative to encourage voluntary pro-tection of Ohio’s primary headwaterstreams and to disseminate informa-tion to facilitate local voluntary efforts.Ohio EPA’s outreach efforts included:

• Numerous training sessions andpresentations to interested groupsregarding primary headwaterstreams evaluation techniques;

• Five headwater workshops, at-tended by more than 120 people,held in conjunction with theOhio Federation of Soil andWater Conservation Districts,Lake and Wayne Counties Soiland Water Conservation Districtsand Ohio State University’sA gr i c u l t u re . Re s e a rch . a n dDevelopment.Center;..and

• Primary headwater stream factsheets, drafted to promote a widerunderstanding of the value andimportance of headwaters and toencourage local governments, soiland water conservation districtsand watershed groups to promotesound land use management andprotection of primary headwaterstreams.................

.These efforts reflect Ohio

EPA’s conviction that the propermanagement of small watersheds andthe streams that flow through them iscritical to the long-range success ofwater resource management in Ohio.For more information, visit the Website at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/wqs/headwaters/index.html.

Lake Erie

Ecosystem objectives and alakewide habitat strategy were drafted

for the Lake Erie Lakewide Manage-ment Plan (LaMP). Numerous publiceducation and outreach events pro-vided technical training, promotedstewardship and provided opportuni-ties for public participation for theMaumee, Black, Cuyahoga andAshtabula River’s remedial action plans(RAPs). The Black River RAP partneredwith the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersto conduct an intensive inventory ofFrench Creek.

A fish habitat shelf, the first suchA fish habitat shelf, the first suchA fish habitat shelf, the first suchA fish habitat shelf, the first suchA fish habitat shelf, the first suchstructure in Lake Erie, wasstructure in Lake Erie, wasstructure in Lake Erie, wasstructure in Lake Erie, wasstructure in Lake Erie, wasconstructed along the lowerconstructed along the lowerconstructed along the lowerconstructed along the lowerconstructed along the lowerBlack River as an alternative toBlack River as an alternative toBlack River as an alternative toBlack River as an alternative toBlack River as an alternative tosheet-pile lined banks.sheet-pile lined banks.sheet-pile lined banks.sheet-pile lined banks.sheet-pile lined banks............................................................................

The division’s RAP staff drafteda guidance document to set commonminimum state delisting targets for theareas of concern.........................

Treatment PlantTechnical Assistance

The division’s Technical Assis-tance Unit provides free on-site tech-nical assistance to wastewater treat-ment facilities across Ohio. Thep ro g r a m ’ s . f o c u s . i s . b r i n g i n gnoncompliant or under-performing

wastewater treatment systems backinto compliance with their dischargepermits at little or no capital cost to thecommunity.

This past year, wastewater systemsin Cedarville (Greene County),Marietta (Washington County) andSouth Webster (Scioto County) wereall in serious violation of their permit-ted discharge limits. With operatortraining on process control, SouthWebster came into compliance withinone week. Implementation of minormodifications to the process flow inMarietta brought compliance within amonth. Both of these systems turnedaround without capital expenditures.The current operation at Marietta hasrealized improved performance andreduced cost by eliminating chemicalspreviously used to “band aid” the prob-lem. At Cedarville, assistance from thedivision enabled the plant to eliminatethe discharge of gross pollution untillong-term capital projects could comeonline.

Ohio to ContinueAdvice on FishConsumption

The future of the Ohio SportFish Consumption Advisory programwas questioned in early 2003 whenbudget cuts at the Ohio Department ofHealth forced the department to cur-

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tail its role in the program. GovernorBob Taft asked the directors of theagencies to find ways to continue pro-viding meaningful fish consumptionadvice to the public, but in a more un-derstandable, usable and effectivemanner....................

In order to ensure continuation ofthis vital program, Ohio EPA steppedforward to provide funding to supporttesting of fish for the 2003 fishingseason and analysis of how much issafe to eat......................................

Ohio is nationally recognized forits water quality monitoring program,which includes testing of fish andother aquatic life to evaluate the healthof the stream. Another importantpart of the monitoring program is theanalysis of human health risk posedby eating fish from specific waterbodies. Maintaining the program iscritical because new monitoring workcontinues to uncover locations wheretoxic pollutant sources and contami-nated sediments exist..................

The fish consumption advisorypublished for the 2002 fishing seasonwas made available to the public at localpublic health clinics, fishing licensevendors and on-line at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/index.html.

Mark Bergman of the Division of Surface Water, left, discusses the surface waterEnviroscope model with students at Aurora Middle School in Bedford Heights.The model helps students learn about how everyday activities can contribute towater pollution.

In 2002, Governor Bob Taft declared October Clean Water Month. To mark the occasion, Ohio EPA DirectorChristopher Jones stood along the banks of the Middle Cuyahoga River in Summit County to announce more than$4.4 million in grants to local watershed projects throughout Ohio. The announcement was made on the eve ofNational Water Monitoring Day to highlight the importance of state-local partnerships in improvingwater quality.

Nonpoint source pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from manydiffuse sources. It is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, itpicks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands,coastal waters, and even underground sources of drinking water. Nonpoint source pollution is now the leadingcause of water quality problems in Ohio.

Section 319 of the Clean Water Act deals with nonpoint source pollution. Under section 319, states, territoriesand tribes can get grants from U.S. EPA to implement nonpoint source pollution controls. Since 1990, Ohio EPA hasdistributed Section 319 funds for more than 200 projects. Education, innovation, cost-sharing and voluntarycompliance with locally developed watershed management plans are the cornerstones of this program.

To support the restoration of impaired water bodies already identified and prioritized by Ohio EPA, fundsfrom the nonpoint source program are now purposely targeted toward those watersheds. By leveraging andfocusing resources, cleanups should occur more quickly. During SFY’03, Ohio EPA awarded $4,484,743 to 13projects.

Ohio EPA Awards $4.4 Million for Local Watershed Efforts on theEve of National Water Monitoring Day

• The division received 6,999samples covering a variety of ma-trices, including water, drinkingwater, soil, sediment, air canister,air filter and fish tissue. Includedwere 105 rush samples from vari-ous Ohio locations including EastLiverpool, Wright Patterson AirForce Base, Mill Creek in HamiltonCounty, East Elementary Schooland.Edgewood.Elementaryschools in Union County. DESreported 98,714 inorganic testresults and 2,349 organic scanresults.

• Staff conducted 57 bioassays (tox-icity tests) and 47 chlorophyllanalyses...............

• Five analytical methods wereadded or amended.................

• The lab received 283 samplesfrom the Fish Tissue ConsumptionProgram, bringing the totalsamples to date to more than4,700. Samples are analyzed forarsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury,selenium, pesticides and PCBs.

• For the Voluntary Action Program(VAP) lab certification program,staff reviewed 90 separatelaboratory documents, audited

six laboratories and issued 21laboratory actions and 15 suspen-sions or revocations.

• Staff conducted 346 chemistryand 144 microbiology lab surveysand reviewed 340 applications,40 plans and 142 correctionstatements for the drinking waterlaboratory certification program.Two newsletters on drinkingwater laboratory policies andprocedures were issued, each toapproximately 425 laboratories.

• Staff responded to 4,275 technicalassistance requests from individu-als outside Ohio EPA and 2,965technical assistance requests fromOhio EPA staff. Requests coveredmethods, data interpretations,sampling requirements, sample

scheduling and requirements forcertification. Special assistanceprovided to the Division of Emer-gency and Remedial Responseincluded review of seven techni-cal documents, development andreview of six policies and morethan 400 hours on developmentof a new contract........................

• The SFY’03-04 Capital Budget,approved in December 2002,included funding for the designand construction of a new labora-tory facility to be shared by OhioEPA and the Ohio Departmentof Health. Division staff put inmore than 2,000 hours to helpwith schematic and design devel-opment phases for the newfacility that were completed bythe design team of URS/RFD.

Division of Environmental Services

The Division of Environmental Services (DES) provides quality biological and chemical dataand technical assistance to other Ohio EPA divisions, as well as other state and local agencies, to helpmonitor and protect human health and the environment and to ensure a high quality of life in Ohio.

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Tatiana Bertulsons, right, preparesorganic water samples for analysis atthe Ohio EPA lab.

• Environmental self-audits forOhio farmers and a demonstrationin five eastern Ohio counties of asolar-powered-pump watering sys-tem to prevent livestock from de-grading streams and stream-banks..............

• Workshops for drinking watertreatment plant officials aboutnew technologies for monitoringthe presence of microbes andbioterrorism agents in watersupplies................

• Regulatory compliance trainingfor sewage treatment and septicsystem installers in northwestOhio; for operators and inspectorsof small wastewater treatment

systems in northeast Ohio; andfor mining and quarrying opera-tors statewide.............

• Outdoor classroom supplies forschools in five counties andcurriculum specific to localwatersheds in 14 counties.

• Teacher workshops and classroommaterials on air quality, clean fu-els, nuclear science and water sam-pling techniques............

• Hands-on opportunities formiddle school and college stu-dents to help restoration ecologyscientists repair damaged ecosys-tems..............

• Capacity-building grants for localofficials: training for board mem-bers of local watershedorganizations;.and.model ordi-nances and other resources to im-prove the quality of applications tothe Clean Ohio Fund for openspace preservation.

• For the general public, programson asthma triggers, biodiversity,composting, lawn care, nativeplants, household.hazardous.waste disposal, septic systemmaintenance,.streambank stabili-zation, riparian habitat conserva-tion and storm drain mark-ing.............

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Environmental Education

The Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF) celebrated its 12th year of supporting educationprograms targeting kindergarten through university students and teachers, the general public and theregulated community. In SFY’03, OEEF awarded 44 grants totaling $949,218 for projects like these:

Hundreds of science projects filledthe arena at Ohio State Universityfor State Science Day. Ohio EPA’s En-vironmental Education Fund (OEEF)was a major sponsor, providing$10,000 to help make the event asuccess. In addition, numerousOhio EPA employees volunteered toserve as judges to select the winnersof the Governor’s Awards for Envi-ronmental Protection Research.

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Birds, Flight and the Wrights

Did you know that the U.S. Air Force is studying dragonflies be-cause of their ability to fly equally fast backwards and forwards?

Birds, Flight and the Wrights is an integrated approach toenvironmental education that links a historic event - the anniversaryof man’s first powered flight - with science, natural history, language,environmental issues and art. This two-year initiative of the AullwoodAudubon Center and Farm in Dayton was funded in part bya grant from the Ohio Environmental Education Fund.

A new trail at the Center allows visitors to compare the flight ofseeds, squirrels, dragonflies, butterflies, bats, birds and airplanes ofvarious types. The trail opens with markers asking whether visitorscan walk or run 120 feet in 12 seconds, the length and duration ofthe Wright Brothers’ first powered flight. A prairie learning stationdraws comparisons to nearby Huffman’s Prairie, where the Wrightspracticed. As they watch birds soar over the prairie, visitors are in-vited to discover the principles of flight-drag, thrust, lift and gravity.Accompanying exhibits present botanist Orville Wright’s sketchesof many of the same tree and seed species found at the Center.

Students and teachers at Englewood Elementary School helpedAullwood’s staff create a fourth and fifth grade curriculum that in-corporates the students’ science, history, language arts and mathprojects which relate to flight. The students in the gifted programhelped to design the trail displays, which include their artwork, po-etry, and natural history projects. Thirteen hundred students fromschools in Dayton, Northmont, Tipp City, Trotwood, Kettering andVandalia-Butler participated in the new Birds,Flight and the Wrights fieldtrip to the Cen-ter during theDayton area’sInventing Flightcelebration in2003.

Environmental science and engi-neering scholarships were awarded to18 students at 10 Ohio colleges anduniversities. The OEEF also providedsupport for State Science Day and theNational Engineers’ Week Future CityCompetition, to help middle and highschool students explore careers inthese fields................................

Teacher professional developmentis supported through a multi-yearpartnership with the EnvironmentalEducation Council of Ohio (EECO),with 1,800 participating schools. Thepartnership currently targets fiveunder-served audiences for K-12environmental education: urban/minority, language arts, social studies,early childhood and high school. Asummer writing institute on “TheLanguage of Nature” helped Ohioteachers explore fiction, nonfiction andpoetry about nature as a way of helpingstudents meet new state standards inlanguage arts.

DOE plans to complete sitecleanup at the Fernald site byDecember 2006. During SFY’03, cell2 of the on-site disposal facility wasfilled and cap construction initiated aswaste placement continued in cells 3,4 and 5. A major milestone wasreached with the start-up of the RadonControl System for the K-65 silos.Significant construction continues inthe Silos Project in preparation forwaste retrieval and treatment. Wastepit material treatment and shippingcontinued as the 87th train carriedwaste off site. Natural resourcerestoration projects started in thesouthern waste units and northernpine plantation areas. The final majorpublic tour of the site was held in June2003...........................

DOE plans to complete cleanup atthe Mound facility by March 2006.Excavation of the PRS 66 disposalarea began in January with 30,000cubic yards removed as of June 30.After removing more than 4,000pounds of solvents from the OperableUnit 1 disposal area, the treatmentsystems were turned off to initiate acontaminant rebound test. Six morebuildings were demolished, totaling63. Mound continues to shiptransuranic waste by rail to South

former rocket testing facility. The of-fice also provided technical and admin-istrative support to other federal facil-ity cleanups throughout the state.

At the Mound facility, DOE origi-nally planned to leave contamination inplace at an area known as Potential Re-lease site 66. Ohio EPA worked closelywith DOE, contractors and stakehold-ers regarding this area and as a resultof these major efforts, the area is nowthe largest single cleanup project onthe site with significant levels of con-tamination being removed.

In addition to the cleanup of theDOE Fernald site, office staff have beeninvolved in planning for the restorationof the site. The site will be transformedinto a green space park for futurecommunity use with different habitatssuch as wetlands, prairies, and forestsusing all native trees, grasses andflowers. Restoration of large portionsof the site has already occurred withthe remainder of the site to undergorestoration over the next several years.This success is also the result ofsignificant efforts to work with DOE,the contractor and stakeholders.

Office of Federal Facilities Oversight

The Office of Federal Facilities Oversight (OFFO) ensures the health and safety of the public andthe environment by overseeing investigation and remediation activities at federal cleanup sites in Ohio.The office also facilitates environmental monitoring, emergency response, remedial actions and publicoutreach at Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense (DoD) sites in the state.

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Carolina. Reuse efforts at the sitecontinue.

The DOE Portsmouth facility con-tinues in a cold stand-by mode. DOEcompleted a major phytoremediationproject to address solvent contamina-tion on the southern portion of the site.The preferred remedy for the mosthighly contaminated ground waterplume has been selected and for-warded to U.S. EPA for concurrence.DOE awarded a contract to UraniumDisposition Services for the designand construction of depleted uraniumhexafluoride (DUF6) conversionplants. DOE has proposed shipping6,000 DUF6 cylinders from Tennesseeto Portsmouth for conversion, whichwill require new legal agreements.

At DOD’s former Plum Brook Ord-nance Plant, a removal of explosives-contaminated soil was started at TNTArea B. Fieldwork to clear ordnance atthe beach of the former Erie ArmyDepot was completed. At the RavennaArmy Ammunition Plant, thermal de-composition was conducted at twoLoad Lines to destroy residual explo-sives so buildings could be demol-ished safely. At WrightPatterson Air ForceBase, investigationswere completed on a

Ohio EPA staff show Ross Middle School students someof the macroinvertebrate and amphibious life in thewetlands at Fernald during a class outing May 20, 2003.

OPP’s section of Ohio EPA’sInternet site receives more than30,000 visits each month from exter-nal stakeholders and has been acknowl-edged by U.S. EPA and othersas one of the better stateagency sites to obtain practi-cal pollution prevention in-formation................

More than 3,000 Ohiobusinesses received OPP’snewsletter, Prevention Quar-terly. This quarterly newslet-ter highlights successfulpollution prevention activi-ties completed by Ohiobusinesses and providesresource information tohelp companies reduce waste.

OPP developed more than 60 newpublications to help companies pre-vent pollution. These include factsheets on pollution prevention tech-niques and the reduction of persistent,bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals,

technical assistance reports for specificbusinesses and case studies highlight-ing successful pollution preventionprojects...............................

In SFY’ 03, OPP continued effortsto integrate pollution prevention intoAgency programs. Some examples ofthese activities include: helpingthe Division of Hazardous WasteManagement provide pollution pre-vention training on painting and coat-

Office of Pollution Prevention

The Office of Pollution Prevention (OPP) helped nearly 300 Ohio businesses and provided additionaltechnical assistance to more than 250 companies, organizations or individuals in SFY’03. This includes18 site visits to help Ohio companies implement pollution prevention projects and more than 25presentations and training events to help educate Ohio businesses and organizations about pollutionprevention.

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ings for inspectors; coordinating theOhio Materials Exchange with the Di-vision of Solid and Infectious WasteManagement; assisting the Southeast

District Office on incorporat-ing pollution prevention intoinspections; and coordinatingthe Ohio Mercury ReductionGroup with the Division ofSurface Water. The goal ofthe Ohio Mercury ReductionGroup is to share informationand help coordinate mercuryreduction efforts in Ohio EPAand with other state agenciesand organizations. Group ac-tivities include a collectionand review of mercury data

pertaining to Ohio, assistance with vol-untary programs such as thermometerexchanges and assistance with coordi-nating mercury reduction activitiesthat impact business throughout Ohio..

On October 24, 2002, 30more Agency employeesbecame graduates of the De-veloping Excellent AgencyLeaders (DEAL) program. This13-month leadership compe-tency training program has pro-duced 173 graduates since itwas created. For more informa-tion about DEAL, go to:swdoweb.epa.state.oh.us/deal.html

Ohio continues to be recognized as a nationalleader in incorporating pollution prevention inenforcement settlements, where a portion of anenforcement penalty is reduced in exchange forcompleting some type of pollution prevention activ-ity. Ohio has incorporated pollution prevention into111 enforcement settlements to date, including 10 inSFY ‘03.

• Providing telephone and on-siteassistance................

• Conducting workshops to help in-crease awareness of environmen-tal regulations. .

• Developing and distributingcompliance assistance resourcessuch as fact sheets and brochuresthathelp explain the regulations ineasy-to-understand language.

SBAO’s accomplishmentsfor SFY’03 include:

• Responding to 808 complianceassistance requests. .

• Conducting four complianceworkshops with topics includingan overview of hazardous waste

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regulations and what to expectduring an Ohio EPA inspection.

• Dis tr ibut ing . thousands. ofc o mp l i a n c e . p u b l i c a t i o n s .Approximately.2,500.smallbusinesses.receive.SBAO’squarterly newsletter.

• Revising and developing eightcompliancea s s i s t a n c epublications.Topics . fo rt h e . n e wpublicationsi n c l u d e dstorm waterpermittingf o r . s m a l lconstructions i t e s , r e -

Small Business Assistance Office

Small businesses play an important role in Ohio’s economy, accounting for about 97 percent of Ohio’sbusinesses. Because of the large number and different types of small businesses, their environmentalperformance is critical to the success of Ohio EPA’s mission. However, due to the scope of theenvironmental regulations and their limited resources, small businesses are often challenged to understandand comply with environmental laws. The Small Business Assistance Office (SBAO) was establishedto help small businesses. SBAO’s main activities include:

In SFY’03, the SBAO produced a video, “Everything But the Rattle: Environmental Best Management Practicesfor the Auto Recycling Industry.” Before the video was even finished, U.S. EPA invited SBAO to speak about theproject at the National Compliance Assistance Roundtable. The video project was also highlighted as a significantcompliance assistance tool on the Air Pollution Distant Learning Network satellite broadcast, part of the U.S. EPA’sAir Toxic Network. SBAO was also invited to show the video at the Ohio Auto and Truck Recyclers Association’sannual meeting.

The best indicator of the project’s success is the feedback SBAO has received from auto salvage yards. Thevideo was distributed to all licensed auto salvage yards in the state. Each was asked to return a postage paidvideo evaluation form. Based on the forms received, many auto salvage yards are making changes sug-gested by the video to improve compliance with their environmental requirements.

In addition to the attention the video has received here in Ohio, the Ontario Ministry of Environmentalso has a high level of interest in the project and has requested permission to use SBAO’s autosalvage compliance guidebook and video in development of their own materials.

Everything But the Rattle

moving mercury switches fromautomobiles and managinghazardous waste containers.

• Producing a video to help autosalvage yards understand theirenvironmental requirements andidentify environmental bestmanagement practices.

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relatively low. During SFY’03, OhioEPA received only nine discriminationcomplaints. Six of the complaints werebased on sex, two on disability and oneon race/religion. All allegations wereinvestigated and resolved quickly.

The office continues to conducttraining for all new hires. Thirty-sixemployees received training on EEOpolicies and procedures.

Ohio EPA recognizes the value ofexperience and qualifications of indi-viduals in the effective fulfillment ofresponsibilities in the work place. TheOffice of EEO continuously preparesand conducts training for a staff of ap-proximately 1,300 to help maintain ahealthy and productive work environ-ment while keeping the Agency incompliance with state and federal EEOrequirements.

Employees can turn to the officeto seek advice, report allegations of dis-crimination or request assistance withany situation that may be creating con-flict in the workplace. Sixty-two em-ployees utilized the office for informalcounseling services and advice inSFY’03.

As a result of these efforts, chargesof discrimination at Ohio EPA remain

EEO

The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), as an advocate of equality, is committed tomaintaining optimum professional service. The office pursues fair and equal treatment for all individualsemployed by or seeking employment with Ohio EPA regardless of race, color, sex (including sexualharassment and sexual orientation), age, national origin, religion, veteran status or disability. They alsomonitor the Agency’s compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulationsgoverning nondiscrimination in employment.

Employee Services

Ten staff members in the Office ofEmployee Services (OES) providecomplete employment services tonearly 1,300 employees statewide.The office performs or oversees allhiring activities including posting va-cancies, recruiting and screening appli-cants, preparing applicant pools formanagement review, conducting back-ground checks, offering employmentand providing initial orientation.

During SFY’03, staff processed5,244 applications for 110 vacant po-sitions, 348 new or changed positiondescriptions and 44 resignations or re-tirements. Temporary clerical supportwas provided to four central supportoffices, Central District Office and allbut two of the program divisions. Morethan 50 summer interns were hiredinto the Division of Surface Water’s en-vironmental sampling and storm watercompliance programs. Students repre-sented approximately 25 Ohio col-leges and universities.

Internal services include admin-istration of benefits including disabil-ity, FMLA, health care, and dental andvision insurance, electronic creationand update of position descriptionsand the Agency table of organizationand skill assessments to identify quali-fied applicants and proposals for clas-sification plan.changes. Other servicesinclude develop-ment and coordi-nation of eventsand.programssuch as BringYour Sons andD a u g h te rs . toWork Day andt h e . H e a l t h yOhioans Well-ness Program.

The officeserves as the in-take office forOhio EPA’s par-

ticipation in the State of Ohio Work-place Mediation Program administeredby the Ohio Commission on DisputeResolution and Conflict Management.This program provides employees witha forum to resolve workplace conflicts.

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Office of Fiscal AdministrationThe Office of Fiscal Administration coordinates purchasing, accounts payable, Controlling Boardrepresentation, retention of fiscal documents, accounts receivable, payroll, grants administration, budgeting,economic analysis and internal accounting control review.

During SFY’03, the purchasing andpayables section processed 1,300 pur-chasing documents and more than15,000 payments to vendors. The useof electronic purchase requisitions andinvoices was expanded to all five dis-trict offices to promote greater effi-ciency in the purchasing process. Thepayroll and revenues section pro-cessed payroll for 1,280 employeesand deposited more than 39,000 feepayments. The grants administrationunit performed cash management andfinancial reporting for an average of 64

active grants each month. Grant report-ing was improved by standardizing thedocumentation that is used to com-plete annual and semi-annual reports.. The budgeting section completeda zero-based budget request for the FY2004 - 2005 biennium and supportedthe Agency’s efforts to obtain the finan-cial resources needed to continue pro-grams to protect and improve the en-vironment. Work continued on thenew Agency reporting database whichprovides detailed financial information

from data downloaded from the cen-tral accounting system. .

The economic analysis unit com-pleted 31 initial financial evaluations todetermine a company’s ability to payfor pollution control equipment orpenalties in environmental enforce-ment cases. The unit also providedsupport for an average of 19 ongoingenforcement cases each month, includ-ing efforts to enforce environmentallaws at the New Boston Coke site inScioto County. .

Many staff throughout the Agencyrely on timely and responsiveassistance from the Office ofInformation Technology Services.During the past year, the officeresponded to 2,065 help desk calls.Several ongoing initiatives will help tofurther improve the services provided.A recently initiated project will helpdevelop an ongoing process formeasuring and improving customersatisfaction. To provide better

Information Technology Services

During the past year, the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) focused on two areas -improving the Agency’s network and improving customer service. Early in 2003, the aging and outdatednetwork was replaced, preparing the Agency to take advantage of current and emerging technologiesincluding video conferencing. The Agency also became part of a statewide virtual private network securingelectronic transactions between Ohio EPA offices throughout the State.

oversight of system developmentactivities, four staff have been fullytrained in an accredited projectmanagement program. In addition,efforts have been made to bettercoordinate the purchasing of hardwareand software, saving the Agencymoney and allowing the Agency tomaintain a more accurate hardware andsoftware inventory.

Progress continues on thecoordination and integration of data

management across environmentalprograms. The Division of SurfaceWater’s Surface Water InformationManagement System (SWIMS) wasupdated and aligned with the AgencyEnterprise Database.

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Staff coordinated a comprehen-sive occupational safety and heath pro-gram for employees who perform awide variety of field and lab activitiesin support of the Agency’s mission.This program included providing train-ing and refresher courses in occupa-tional health and safety legal require-ments, CPR, defensive driving, pre-venting workplace violence, fieldsafety and respiratory equipment use.This combined effort resulted in only

Labor, Safety and EthicsThe Office of Labor, Safety and Ethics provided a variety of services to Agency employees in thepast year. The office continued to work with the union to decrease and resolve grievances at the lowestpossible level to reduce the need for third-party intervention.

11 OSHA-recordable injuries during2002 for a workforce of almost 1,300employees. .

The office also revised its occupa-tional medical screening program tobetter tailor the type of medicalscreening received to the type of fieldor lab duties performed by each em-ployee. Staff are overseeing theAgency’s commitment to develop andimplement a 10-step business plan pro-moted by the Department of Adminis-

trative Services and Bureau of Work-ers Compensation in an effort to in-crease worker safety and reduceworker’s compensation insurance pre-miums. .

The Agency’s ethics counsel an-swered numerous questions regardingpotential conflicts of interest, privateemployment, nepotism and post-em-ployment restrictions. Staff conductedethics training for all new employeesand supervisors. .

Office of Legal ServicesThe Office of Legal Services provides general counsel to the divisions and districts and evaluates,prepares and negotiates administrative enforcement actions. In addition, Agency attorneys prepare tradesecret claim determinations, prepare and review contracts and address public records request issues. Theattorneys also assist in the development or review of legislation and rules.

In SFY’ 03, the office providedsignificant legal support on legislativei n i t i a t i ve s . a n d . o n . n u m e ro u srulemaking efforts, including theAgency’s five-year rule reviewrequirement..In.addition,.the.officeprovided.guidance.to.the Agencyon.Sub..S.B..265, incorporation byreference in rulemaking.

The office provided significantsupport to the divisions in their effortsto meet Agency-wide enforcementgoals. These include issuing 110administrative orders, resolving all two-year-old administrative enforcementcases and resolving all verifiedcomplaints older than two years. Incalendar year 2002, the Agency issued144 administrative orders and resolved9 5. p e rc e n t .of . i t s . b a ck l o g ge denforcement cases. In addition, at theend of 2002, there were only twoverified complaints pending that were

older than two years. In addition,during SFY’03, the office establisheduniform “boilerplate” provisions foruse in all Agency enforcement orders.The office also helped create verifiedcomplaint protocol and revise themulti-media enforcement protocol.

The office generated 58formal general counsel opin-ions and provided informalgeneral counsel assistance on adaily basis through servicesprovided by assigned duty at-torneys. Staff conducted exten-sive research on the issue ofcreating and enforcing use re-strictions as part of cleanupsunder Ohio EPA’s various legalauthorities. Implementation ofa contract with a computerizedlegal research provider resultedin a savings of approximately$40,000 in annual legal re-

search costs. Attorneys presentedtraining seminars on public records andthe recently enacted statute of limita-tions law regarding civil penalties. Theoffice also assisted in the timely imple-mentation of the Clean Ohio Fund pro-gram.

Additional environmental benefits gained by Ohio EPA’s enforcement actions in 2002 included:

• 526 acres of previously contami-nated land returned to use; and

• new treatment of 188,000 gal-lons per day of sewage not pre-viously receiving centralizedtreatment.

Ohio EPA’s environmental enforcement efforts in 2002 eliminated at least two billion gallons of untreatedsewage overflows annually and result in other measurable environmental improvements as well.

“Historically, Ohio EPA’s regulatory performance has been judged on the number of cases settled and civilpenalties assessed because those are easy to measure,” said Ohio EPA Director Christopher Jones. “Using thosestandards, Ohio EPA has performed very well in the past three years. But more importantly, we have significantlyimproved the environment through our enforcement actions. These improvements will positively impact Ohiofor many years to come,” Jones added. .

For example, Ohio EPA and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) resolved cases involving sewer overflows withthe cities of Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown and Bucyrus. The judicial decrees in these cases required more than $2billion dollars in improvements to wastewater treatment plants to eliminate sewer overflows, and will eliminate thedischarge of more than two billion gallons of untreated sewage annually.

Ohio EPA issued 144 enforcement orders and assessed $2,176,465 in civil penalty settlements in 2002, passingthe $2 million mark for the third year in a row. In addition, the AGO filed 53 consent orders, assessed $7,608,187 inpenalties and recovered $1,369,038 in costs and $763,000 in other monetary recoveries on Ohio EPA’s behalf.This is the second highest amount of total civil penalties assessed by the AGO since tracking began 13 years ago.

A record-setting court-issued penalty was obtained in a case against New Boston Coke ($2,568,000), and theHeritage Land Development case resulted in the largest civil penalty assessed in the history of the state in awetland enforcement case ($1,000,000). In addition, the AGO resolved an enforcement case against Marion SteelCompany that will result in a significant reduction in mercury emissions. .

The Division of Surface Water assessed total penalties of $2,980,624 ($2,611,500 from the AGO and $369,124in administrative civil penalty settlements), the third highest amount in the last 12 years. The Division of Hazard-ous Waste Management assessed $1,863,619 in civil penalties ($1,280,629 by the AGO and $582,990 in adminis-trative civil penalty settlements), the highest total in the last five years. .

The Division of Air Pollution Control resolved 119 enforcement cases, which is a record high number of non-auto emission related cases in one year. The division collected $3,940,437 in penalties ($2,833,256 from the AGOand $1,107,181 in administrative civil penalty settlements). This is the second highest total penalties collected in thelast 10 years by the air program.

The Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management has improved the time it takes to complete enforcementactions and now averages administrative resolutions in less than a year. During 2002, the division assessed $863,347in civil penalties ($819,027 from the AGO and $44,320 in administrative civil penalty settlements). .

By consistently meeting performance standards, the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters maintains thelowest average age for administrative cases of any program - 139 days. The division assessed $136,625 in penalties($63,775 from the AGO and $72,850 in administrative civil penalty settlements). .

Over the last two years, the Division of Emergency and Remedial Response has critically reviewed its enforcementprogram. A criticism of the program has been that cleanup is not completed because sites simply get stuck in thelengthy regulatory process dictated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and LiabilityAct (CERCLA). The division made a strategic decision to focus on a select number of priority sites in order to movethem toward cleanup and final resolution. This has been a successful effort for the division. In 2002, 11 cleanups ofcontaminated sites were completed and five new enforcement orders were issued. .

In addition to the civil settlements, the State’s criminal enforcement efforts resulted in 17 convictions thatresulted in $79,375 in fines, $180,533 in restitution and sentencing that equated to 3,371 days in jail.

Ohio EPA Report SummarizesEnvironmental Enforcement Successes in 2002

• cleanup of 5,070,632 scrap tires;

• 7,956 tons of pollutionremoved from the air;

• cleaner drinking water for9,208 customers;

• elimination of unsanitary sewageconditions for 1,229 lots;

• mitigation of 39 acres of wetlands;

• proper storm water controls for 512acres of land under development;

• cleanup of 9,675 tons of solid waste;

• treatment, disposal or removal of37,405 tons of hazardous waste;

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Library

Ohio EPA’s library continues toserve as a resource for consultants,regulated entities, students andemployees. The library collectionincludes many technical documents ontopics such as Ohio water quality sam-pling research and methodology thatare not available in other libraries. Li-

brary staff respond to inter-library loanrequests from scientists as far away asDenmark, Finland, Germany, HongKong, Israel, the Netherlands, PuertoRico, the Union of South Africa and theUnited Kingdom. They also providecopies of all Ohio EPA policies andguidance documents. Online biblio-

graphic search capabilities wereexpanded in SFY’03. The library isopen to visitors from 8 a.m. to5 p.m. daily. Librarians can alsorespond to questions by phone at(614) 644-2862 or by e-mail(ruth.evans@epa.state.oh.us).

Over the last year, the Office ofOperations and Facilities has workedhard to hold down costs by continuingto decrease the Agency’s motor fleet.Use of several sedans and quad cab

Operations and Facilities

pickups purchased to replace anaging fleet of jeeps led to a reductionin the total fleet by 24 during the lastyear for an estimated cost savings of$776,000. Energy cost savings of

$30,000 were realized in the Agency’sLazarus Government Center offices byturning off lights at night and cuttingback on hallway lights during operatinghours.

Ohio EPA has worked with theOhio Department of Health (ODH)and various local health departmentson home sewage reform legislationfor several years. The Home SewageDisposal System bill (H.B. 231) pro-poses minimum statewide standardsfor new sewage systems and includesinstallation and maintenance require-ments. Ohio EPA will continue towork closely with ODH, other inter-ested parties and the bill’s sponsorrelative to discharges and potentialwater quality impacts as discussionscontinue on the bill in 2004.

An increase in the amount of out-of-state construction and demolitiondebris (C&DD) arriving in Ohio hascreated a heightened awareness of theweaknesses of our current C&DDprogram. Ohio EPA worked with Sena-tor Carnes to develop legislation thatwould strengthen the program by ex-panding siting restrictions and in-creasing the operational and permit-

Office of Legislative Affairs

ting requirements at C&DD disposalfacilities. Ohio EPA testified as a pro-ponent of the Construction andDemolition Debris Landfill Siting andMonitoring bill (S.B. 199) in the 124thGeneral Assembly and although thebill was voted out of the Senate, itfailed to be voted out of committeein the House of Representatives. TheAgency remains committed to work-ing on this issue in the 125th GeneralAssembly, although we do not antici-pate significant legislative progressthis year.

Though not initiated by OhioEPA, we worked closely with inter-ested parties on the Statute of Limi-tations bill (S.B. 105), effective inOhio on July 24, 2002. The bill es-tablishes a statute of limitations foractions seeking civil or administrativepenalties brought under environmen-tal laws. The bill requires that any en-vironmental action seeking civil oradministrative penalties be filed

within five years of the date an agencyknew or was informed of a violation.Those portions of an action that seeka remedy, such as cleanup or cost re-covery, are not covered by the stat-ute of limitations. The new five-yeardeadline will become effective onJuly 24, 2007.

Effective on October 22, 2003,the Credible Data bill (H.B. 43) cre-ates a process for maintenance of acomputerized database for the collec-tion and submittal of water qualitysamples from sources outside theAgency. The database will be availableto outside users. Ohio EPA stronglysupports the role of local stakehold-ers in monitoring local water resourceconditions and supported this initia-tive as it will help move the Agencytoward creation of a database to houseall water quality data. This data willhelp develop a more complete snap-shot of water quality throughoutOhio.

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The Agency’s Waste Out programcontinues to be a success. Employees’suggestions have saved resources, timeand money for the State of Ohio.

The Public Interest Centereducates.the.public.about environ-mental issues and Ohio EPA’s activi-ties, and encourages public participa-tion in the Agency’s decision-makingprocesses. In SFY‘03, the public in-volvement staff sent information tomore than17,000 citizens about OhioEPA activities. They also conducted107 public meetings attended by morethan 4,600 citizens, and providedhighly regarded community relationstraining to 47 employees in two of OhioEPA’s district offices.

Public Interest CenterThe media relations staff issued

266 news releases to inform themedia about Ohio EPA activities, andwas successful in securing mediacoverage of numerous events and fieldactivities. Agency employees reportedresponding to 2,096 media calls; 98percent of those were handled byPublic Interest Center staff. The mediastaff also provided media relationstraining to 39 employees in CentralOffice and two of Ohio EPA’s districtoffices. The debut of this trainingsession was very well-received.

The publications staff wrote,edited and designed dozens ofbrochures, newsletters, reports andeducational displays. The office’s Webpage was redesigned to make it easierfor citizens, educators and reporters tofind the information they need. Staffalso played a significant role in theredesign and launch of Ohio EPA’s newWeb site. For the first time in theAgency’s history, the entire Web sitehas a consistent appearance andstructure.

In SFY’03, the Agency went aboveand beyond in a couple of strategicways. Creation and posting of OhioEPA’s Environmental PerformanceIndex (EPI) in public areas has allowedstaff and visitors a chance to seeAgency accomplishments. The EPI isa series of 35 charts that track a varietyof activities and performancestandards including permitting,compliance, enforcement and otherkey functions.

Strategic Management

In June, the Agency implementedstrategic planning to identify valuesand focus areas for the coming year. Ateam of 21 employees from across theAgency conducted three surveys tomeasure employee and externalcustomer satisfaction and the Agency’sstrengths and weaknesses.

For the first time, the Agency’s goalis to improve how we operate insteadof just setting programmatic goals.Each division is completing planning

activities to achieve this goal. Theresults of this effort will be posted onOhio EPA’s Web site.

Management Trainingand Quality

Thirty employees are participatingin the Agency’s highly successful year-long leadership program, DevelopingExcellent Agency Leaders (DEAL).This is the seventh year for thisprogram.

Although the state office of qualitywas not funded in the new bienniumbudget, quality service remains apriority at Ohio EPA. The Agencycontinues to encourage all employeesto improve customer service andmove Ohio EPA closer to excellence inits many activities.

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Permitting

Operating

Major air sources (Draft Title V) 52

Wastewater discharge (NPDES) 624

Installation and Plan Approvals

Air PTIs 735

Wastewater PTIs 2252

Drinking water plan reviews 1655

Ground water reviews 3519

Solid Waste PTIs, certifications, closure plans 117

Hazardous waste permit modifications, 131certifications, closure plans

Inspections

Air 559

Wastewater and storm water 3640

Drinking water 3187

Solid waste 1005

Hazardous waste 1913

Spill prevention & control 71

Monitoring

Air monitors checked 89

Surface water ambient sites checked 38

Surface water survey samples collected 1950

Ground water ambient wells sampled 233

Cleanups

Active sites 383

Spill responses 1357

District Activities

To manage Ohio EPA’s programs atthe local level, the state is served byfive district offices: Northwest, North-east, Southwest, Southeast and CentralDistrict personnel review permit appli-cations, evaluate sites for proposed fa-cilities, investigate complaints, inspectfacilities, identify environmental viola-tions and prepare recommendationsfor enforcement, provide technicalassistance and maintain contact withthe public.

This chart summarizes the outputfor some of the main district activitiesin State Fiscal Year 2003.

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Outreach is an important part of Ohio EPA’s mission. Here, anorthwest district office staff member demonstrates how evencommon substances like powdered coffee creamer can igniteunder the right conditions.

Air staff at the district worked withcentral office to develop the Compli-ance Evaluation Tracking Application(CETA) for program use statewide.The original purpose of thisinitiative was to satisfy a U.S. EPAgrant requirement to establisha n . e l e c t ro n i c . s u b m i s s i o n . o fcompliance.data to the Aerometric In-formation Retrieval.System (AIRS).CETA has been expanded to includeadditional aspects of compliancemonitoring.

Air staff also issued a draft syn-thetic minor permit for a unique tirepyrolysis installation. The proposedfacility, if built and operated accordingto plan, would pyrolyze tires yieldingcarbon black, with a minimal amountof toxic pollutants being emitted. Theproposed facility has the potential tohelp reduce the problem of waste tires,while producing a useful product. Thisparticular process would be the onlyfacility of its kind in the country. Thedevelopment of the permit requiredmany hours of research and diligenceby district personnel.

During SFY’03, staff from Hazard-ous Waste Management and the SmallBusiness Assistance office, conductedan initiative to help determine and im-prove the compliance status of auto-mobile salvage yards. These sites had

Central District Officereceived very little attention fromOhio EPA in the past. The initiative tar-geted 69 Bureau of Motor Vehicle reg-istered sites in the district. The Agencymailed compliance assistance guid-ance to each facility and in July 2002,staff visited 55 sites. Violations werefound at 60 percent of the facilities in-spected. The most common compli-ance issues included improper usedoil container labeling and used oil re-leases to the environment. All viola-tions noted during the inspectionswere resolved.

Division of Surface Water staff inthe district made sure the ambient wa-ter quality network was maintained forthe central Ohio area. Numerous wa-ter quality surveys were conducted,including eight toxic.bioassays ofm a j o r. wa s t e wa t e r. t re a t m e n tplants..Staff also completed nineSource.Water.Assessment.andProtection.(SWAP) projects includingDelco Water Co (Olentangy River,Alum Creek, and Lewis Center RoadW a t e r . Tr e a t m e n t . P l a n t s ) ,Delaware.(city), Sunbury, Ashley, Lake-of-the-Woods, Washington CourtHouse and Westerville. Staff also co-operated with Columbus on SWAPprojects for.its.Dublin Road and HapCremean water treatment plants.

To satisfy commitments for theU.S. EPA Superfund Consolidated Co-operative Agreement, staff completeda five-year review for Bowers Landfilland five screenings for Franz Landfill,St. Albans Dump, Town Run, Up AlumCreek Corp. Property and WestervilleLandfill. The screenings were com-pleted to determine if the sites shouldbe entered into U.S. EPA’s Comprehen-sive Environmental.Response, Com-pensation, and Liability InformationSystem (CERCLIS). Pre-CERCLISscreenings allow an initial low-cost lookat potential sites to ensure that uncon-taminated sites or sites ineligible un-der CERCLA are not unnecessarily en-tered into CERCLIS for furtherSuperfund-financed assessment activi-ties. Pre-CERCLIS Screenings can in-clude:

• Background information of owner-ship of site.

• Geological makeup of the property.

• Production history of the site.

• Field test samples to determine ifany hazardous substances arepresent.

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Mary Beth Cohen - Tom Hagerty Award

Mary Beth Cohen, an Environmental Specialist II in NWDO’s Divisionof Surface Water, received the 2003 Tom Hagerty Award from the OhioWater Environment Association (OWEA). This award recognizes publicagency employees who unselfishly provide guidance and assistance towastewater plant operators and superintendents as a part of their duties.Emphasis is placed on a candidate’s direct involvement with assistingplant operators in the understanding of regulatory requirements, plantoperations, state certification and operator training.

Drinking Water staff providedassistance to numerous public watersystems applying for State RevolvingLoan Fund monies. Six systems re-ceived funding totaling more than$45.8 million, including a $31.6 mil-lion loan to Cleveland. Staff assistedcommunity water systems with secu-rity concerns, emergency planning ef-forts and provided technical assistanceto water systems facing ground watercontamination problems. Ground wa-ter staff implemented a plan to reduceand eliminate project review backlogsand to improve on-time performance.In addition, staff met their goal of com-pleting 75 percent of communitysystem Source Water Assessment andProtection (SWAP) reports by May 31,2003.

Surface water staff continued tohelp create procedures for establish-ing water quality criteria to protect pri-mary headwater streams. Total Maxi-mum Daily Load (TMDL) projects weredeveloped and implemented forMiddle Cuyahoga River, Sugar Creek,

Northeast District OfficeUpper and Lower Cuyahoga River andRocky River. The division exceeded itsgoal of reducing the backlog of waste-water discharge (NPDES) permit re-newals to below 10 percent, providedassistance in developing 401 programand stream mitigation guidelines andcompleted SWAP evaluations for allsurface water supplies.

Division of Emergency and Reme-dial Response staff provided more than3,000 hours of Voluntary Action Pro-gram (VAP) technical assistance andoutreach to volunteers, including nu-merous cities. Six covenants not to sueand two urban setting designationswere issued for northeastern Ohioproperties and seven properties re-ceived Clean Ohio Revitalization funds.Staff responded to 375 spills, collectedmore than 260 pounds of mercury inthe recovery program and oversaw theinstallation of treatment units in ninehomes to address solvent contamina-tion from the Bison Corporation in Can-ton. Thermal destruction of two loadlines was completed at the Ravenna Ar-

senal. Division of Air Pollution Con-trol staff provided 2.5 full-time equiva-lents of assistance to the ClevelandDivision. of. Air. Quality andsucceeded.in.improving Cleveland’sperformance in both inspection andpermit recommendation quality. Staffcompleted the draft issuance of all ofits Title V permits, and maintained thetimeliness and quality of its permit-to-install recommendations.

Division of Solid and InfectiousManagement.staff.oversaw.tirecleanups at numerous locationsthroughout northeast Ohio for thesuccessful removal of over 1.2 millionabandoned tires. Staff completed 313inspections and referred four sites forenforcement.

Division of Hazardous WasteManagement staff processed severalhazardous.waste.facility.permitrenewal applications, including theRoss and WTI facilities. In addition,staff conducted 255 inspections andreferred 20 cases for enforcement.

Several staff members helpednorthwest Ohio counties recover afterdevastating tornados in November2002 and severe flooding in 2003.

Solid waste staff oversaw 19 opendump and scrap tire site cleanups re-sulting in the removal of nearly 70,000tires and 700 tons of solid waste. Thehazardous waste group continued toimprove its review of clo-sure documents, approv-ing 13 closure plans andsix closure certificationsduring SFY’03, 60 per-cent more than in previ-ous years. Approxi-mately 51,350 tons ofcontaminated materialwere properly managedthrough these efforts.

Division of Emer-gency and Remedial Re-

Northwest District Officesponse staff worked with U.S. EPA tooversee removal of 25,000 tons ofcreosote-contaminated sediment froma one-mile segment of the Little SciotoRiver in Marion County. Through theVoluntary Action Program, six cov-enants not to sue were issued for prop-erties throughout northwest Ohio.

The Division of Surface Water fin-ished the year with only 8.5 percentof its permits backlogged, exceeding anew statewide goal of 10 percent. Inaddition,..staff drafted all scheduledmajor discharge permits and 25 newminor discharge permits.

When the Title V program began,the district had 143 permits to pro-

cess, more thanany Ohio EPAdistrict..The dis-trict exceeded.its commitmentto issue 75 per-cent of remain-ing permits by is-suing more than80 percent indraft form byMay 1, 2003.

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Each year, staff from the southwest district officecompete in the Battle of the Businesses. Proceedsfrom the event benefit the Special Olympics.

The air program was active with is-sues surrounding American ElectricPower’s (AEP) agreement to purchasethe Village of Cheshire. Staff continueto work with U.S. EPA on the investiga-tion of elevated manganese levels inthe Marietta area.

Surface water staff drafted 118 mi-nor wastewater discharge permits toreduce the backlog to 10 percent. Thedistrict is currently managing 22 activelocal water quality grants with a totalproject cost of over $8 million and hascompleted six Source Water Assess-ment and Protection (SWAP) reports.

Southeast District Office

The district represented Ohio EPAas members of a multi-governmentalfocus group to address C-8 contamina-tion issues in the Washington andMeigs County areas. Staff also com-pleted SWAP reports for more than 75percent of the community drinking wa-ter systems and provided informationand technical assistance during thesnowstorm that affected public watersupplies in several counties.

Staff in the Division of Solid andInfectious Waste Management over-saw 25 open dump and scrap tirecleanups, including the Timco TireDump, and worked to close the Pine

Hollow Construction and DemolitionDebris landfill. They continue to man-age the removal of 10,000 tons of to-bacco from the Biomass site inLawrence County. The Cytec Mariettafacility remediation and demolitionefforts were successful and will lead tothe elimination of DDT contaminationin Duck Creek.

Division of Emergency and Reme-dial Response staff met a number ofmajor cleanup milestones includingcompletion of four remedial designsand five remedial actions for cleanupsof contaminated sites.

Southwest District Office contin-ued effective interaction with the com-munity through training and outreach.The district held training for 150 op-erators and regulators on effectivelandfill operations, gave presentationsto local communities on Clean OhioFund opportunities and worked withthe Small Business Assistance Officeon a salvage yard compliance assistancevideo.

Staff participated with other localorganizations in classrooms, fairs andconferences helping to promote envi-ronmental compliance, awareness andstewardship and reaching thousands ofinterested people. SWDO also contrib-uted to the community in personalways by again being a governmentalleader in Combined Charitable Cam-paign giving as well as competing in the

Southwest District Office

Dayton-area Battle of the Businesses tosupport the Special Olympics, raising$2,500 and placing first in both its di-vision and among all government or-ganizations.

Staff investigations and enforce-ment activities included resolution oftwo drinking water operator falsifica-tion cases, investigations to identifycontamination sources at the Troy,Miamisburg, Milford and Urbana-MadRiver well fields, response to 385spills, a study with U.S. EPA of arsenicin distribution systems and a major ef-fort to address lead contaminationfrom a former shooting range at a localsubdivision.

Other noteworthyaccomplishments in-clude getting the ownersof six closed landfills to

address explosive gas concerns and theremoval of more than 42,000 drumsof hazardous waste from the closedValleycrest Landfill in Dayton.

The district water quality unit un-dertook extensive sampling to supportenforcement efforts while also con-ducting water quality surveys in MillCreek and Seven Mile Creek. Major per-mit actions include the Rumpke Land-fill vertical expansion and certificationof the closure of the Hilton Davis la-goons.

31

This chart shows how the sources of Ohio EPA’s funding have changed significantlyover the last 15 years. In 1987, nearly all of the Agency’s funding came from state andfederal sources. Now, more than half comes from fees charged to the regulatedcommunity.

0 10 20 40 50 60 %

011.55

13.3554.18

43.5314.08

43.0820.19

1988 2003

Hazar

dous

Was

te

Centra

l Sup

port

Air Po

llutio

n

Hazar

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Was

te Fa

cility

Boa

rd

Envir

onmen

tal &

Fina

ncial

Assi

st.

Envir

onmen

tal Se

rvice

s

Emerg

ency

& Re

medial

Resp

onse

Solid

& In

fectio

us W

aste

Surfa

ce W

ater

Drinkin

g &

Groun

d W

aters

OHIO EPA TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS - SFY’03(All Funding Sources $154,984,765*)

1$2,701,462

$19,854,435

$33,037,259

$333,250

$4,773,947

$3,904,214

$18,812,456

$16,169,537

$27,297,889

$18,100,317

* Beginning with the SFY’03Annual Report, the amountsshown for Agency spending willinclude disbursements madeagainst prior year encumbranceswhich totaled $7.1 million inSFY’03.

Percent of Total Funding

HISTORICAL TRENDS IN FUNDING

35,000,000 --

30,000,000 --

25,000,000 --

20,000,000 --

15,000,000 --

10,000,000 --

5,000,000 --

0 --

General Services Fund

Regulated Community Fees

State General Revenue Funds

Federal Grants

DISBURSEMENTS BY FUND TYPE

Fees54.18%

GeneralServices Fund11.55%

Federal Grants20.19%

State GeneralRevenue Funds14.08%

0

5

10

15

20

25

FEE INCOME AND EXPENDITURESby Program-SFY’03

Air Po

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n

Drinkin

g & G

roun

d Wate

rs

Em

ergen

cy &

Remed

ial

Resp

onse

Hazar

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Solid

& In

fectio

us W

aste

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ce W

ater

Mill

ion

s of

$

24

.13

6.36

11.1

2

18.2

4

9.8

7

23.7

2

8.51

11.7

0

8.74

16

.17

7.91

12.6

0

32

State Fiscal Year 2002-2003(July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003)

Income Expenditures

Ohio Environmental Protection AgencyLazarus Government Center122 South Front StreetColumbus, Ohio 43215

Voice: (614) 644-3020www.epa.state.oh.us

Bob Taft, GovernorJennette Bradley, Lieutenant GovernorChristopher Jones, Director

Cathryn Grote, Editor/WriterYvonne Foster-Smith, Graphic Designer

Ohio EPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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