"Local & Reginal Mechanisms for Protecting Groundwater Resources" - presented at the 2011 Ohio Clean Water Conference by Dr. Julie Weatherington-Rice

1. Local & Regional
Mechanisms for Protecting
Groundwater Resources
Julie Weatherington-Rice, PhD
Weatherington-
Bennett & Williams
OSU Food, Ag & Bio Engineering
Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group
An OFFWG
Presentation

2. Presentation abstracted from:
Fractured Tills, Ohio’s Ground
Water Resources, and Public
Policy Considerations Address by
DRASTIC Maps
Ohio Journal of Science
Vol 106 (2):64-73, 2006
(2):64-
Original concept for this paper (1998):
Ava Hottman, Ohio EPA Ret. Surface Water
& Earl Finbar Murphy, Ret. OSU Moritz
College of Law

3. How Can We Protect Our Local
Groundwater Resources -
When contaminating land-use siting,
land-
permitting, and operation decisions are
made in Washington?
In Columbus?
At the Regional level?
At the County seat?

4. Too Often We Feel
Powerless to Make Sound
Land-use Decisions
Because the Power to
Decide is Out of Our
Hands
THEY Don’t have to LIVE
with the Outcome of
Siting, Permitting, and
Operation Decisions…We
Do and it is OUR Water
that Suffers.
What Can We Do?
Marjorie K Bender, Ohio Artist &
Environmentalist, 2000

5. Who Calls the Shots?
Federal Programs that Affect Local
Groundwater Quality
Federal Highway Administration-FHA
Administration-
Federal Aviation Administration-FAA
Administration-
US Department of Defense-DOD
Defense-
US Department of Energy-DOE
Energy-
US Environmental Protection Agency-USEPA
Agency-
US Department of Agriculture-USDA
Agriculture-
US Geological Survey-USGS (Assists)
Survey-

6. Some Examples
USEPA
Superfund
Cleanup DOD – Wright
Patterson Air Force
Bowers Base – Historic
Landfill Landfills, Burn Pits,
Pickaway Co. Aviation Fuel
OH Spills, etc.

7. Who Calls the Shots?
State Programs that Affect Local Groundwater
Quality
Ohio Department of Agriculture-ODA
Agriculture-
Ohio Department of Health-ODH
Health-
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency-OEPA
Agency-
Ohio Public Utilities Commission-PUCO
Commission-
Ohio Department of Transportation-ODOT
Transportation-
Bureau of Underground Storage Tanks-BUSTR
Tanks-
Ohio Department of Natural Resources- ODNR MRM
Resources-
Ohio Department of Natural Resources- ODNR
Resources-
(Assists)

8. Some Examples
Managing
Manure
ODA CAFOs
Tipping Waste
OEPA Landfills

9. Who Calls the Shots?
Regional & County Programs that Affect
Local Groundwater Quality (& Quantity)
Conservancy Districts– flood controls &
Districts–
reservoir recharge
County Engineer’s Offices
County Health Districts
County Scale Zoning & Permit Review
County Soil & Water Conservation Districts
(Assists)

10. Some Examples
Road Salt
Co. Engineer
C&DD Landfill
Co. Health Dist.

11. Tools to Fight Back
Sole Source Aquifer Designation
Wellhead / Source Water Protection
Ground Water Pollution Potential (DRASTIC)
Maps
Local Zoning Reviews & Overlays
The Courts
Administrative starting with ERAC
Civil starting with Co. Court of Common Pleas,
Federal District Court under the Clean Water Act

12. Sole Source Aquifer Designation
Ohio Applications
Prohibits Siting of Solid Waste Landfills - Ohio
EPA, may request variance from Director
Prohibits Siting of Construction & Demolition
Debris Landfills - Ohio EPA and Co. Health
Districts, no variance permitted
Requires double-walled underground storage
double-
tanks – BUSTR
Requires Additional Engineering Design &/or
Groundwater Monitoring for CAFO Lagoons and
Manure Storage Ponds - ODA

13. Wellhead-
Wellhead-Source Water Protection
Safe Drinking Water Act 1986/1996 Amendments
Most Powerful Tool we
have
Applies to ~1350 GW
Systems, Public Sources
only
Ohio EPA Delineated &
Inventoried most of them in
2 years
To Enhance Coverage and
Inventory List, May Well be
Worth Redoing Privately

14. Wellhead-
Wellhead-Source Water Protection
Ohio Applications
9 other potentially contaminating land-use
land-
applications are limited in Source Water
Protection Areas – OEPA, ODA, Co.
Health Districts, BUSTR
Has been effectively used for Zoning
Overlays – City of Dayton
Nationally recognized applications limit
legal challenges
Can include Future Well Fields

15. Ground Water Pollution Potential
(DRASTIC) Maps
Works for a Contaminant Spilled on the Ground
Surface that Moves with Water
For “In-Ground” Applications, need to Modify
“In-
Remove “Soils” protection
Reduce “Topography” to 0-2% slope
0-
Reduce “Depth to Water” thickness by depth of pit
May have to recalculate for a shallower aquifer
For Lagoons & Closed Landfills no longer
pumped, may be overly optimistic, doesn’t work
for “standing water”

16. Ground Water Pollution Potential
(DRASTIC) Maps
Most of Ohio Available
for Download and in a
GIS Format as well
ODNR Div. of Soil &
Water Resources Link
www.dnr.state.oh.us/default/t
abid/3541/Default.aspx
Web site checked
July, 2011

17. Ground Water
Pollution
Potential
(DRASTIC)
Maps
White Counties –
Fractures Included
Gray Counties – Before
(non-rock) Fractures
Included
Black Counties – Still to
be Mapped (as of 2006)

18. Local Zoning
Reviews &
Overlays
Dayton is the Ohio
Success Story
First Wellhead
Protection Plan
Approved in Ohio, one
of First in US
Relies heavily on
Zoning Ordinances,
Overlays, & Reviews

19. The Courts
Administrative, starting with Environmental
Review Appeals Commission – ERAC
Danis Clarkco Solid Waste Landfill, Clark Co.
Civil starting with County Court of Common
Pleas
Putnam Co. filed against Miller City Landfill
Stark Co. filed against Uniontown Ind. Excess Landfill
Federal District Court under the Clean Water Act
Southdown Cement Kiln Dust Landfill, Greene Co.
Mill Creek Deicing Contamination, Dayton
International Airport

20. So You Want to Protect
Your Groundwater NOW!
Where
Do You
Start???

21. Review Your Current Source
Water Protection Area
Determine if it Needs to be
Expanded
Expand, Update Inventory of
Current Potential Pollution
Sources
Get a Management Plan in
Place & Get it Certified
Create Overlay Zoning to
Protect Your Current Water
Supply
www.epa.state.oh.us/ddagw/swap_
protplan.aspx

22. Find Your Well Fields
for the Next 100 Years
ODNR Div. of Soil &
Water Resources Can
Help with New Mapping
Programs Unconsolidated
Aquifers
Potentiometric
Surface Maps
Bedrock
Aquifers
www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/
3783/Default.aspx

23. Tie Up the Land in a
Compatible Land Use to
Preserve the Water
Quality for the Future
Find Natural Partners to
Share the Land
Water Conservancy Districts
Parks Departments
Land Conservancies
Watershed / Greenways Programs

24. Put in Test Wells &
Monitoring Wells
Determine the 1 & 5 year
Time-of-Travel
Define Capture Area
Establish Source Water
Protection Area & Get it
Certified
Create Overlay Zoning to
Preserve Your Future
Ground Water Resources
Needs

25. Join with Your Neighbors
to Review, Define, &
Petition Sole Source
Aquifer Boundaries
Sole Source Aquifer
Boundaries are LEGAL
lines on a Map and They
Have Law Enforcement
Behind Them
If They Are in the Wrong
Place, Protection is Lost
New ODNR maps Will
Provide Needed
Information to Check &
Position SSA Boundaries
Create Overlay Zoning
NOW & Revise After
Petition Approved

26. Help Get Your Ground Water
Pollution Potential Map
Completed / Updated
ODNR Div. of Soil & Water
Resources has LIMITED Funding
for Mapping Efforts
ODNR Plans to Map Whole State
Before Starting County Revisions
Work with County
Commissioners & Ohio
Legislators to Increase Funding
for DRASTIC Mapping w/out
Reducing Funds for Other
ODNR Programs
Create Overlay Zoning NOW to Web site checked
Protect Areas Currently July, 2011
Vulnerable & Update When New
Boundaries Are Completed

27. Read More About What Programs
are Available to Help You
Fractured Till, Ohio’s
Ground Water Resources,
and Public Policy
Considerations
Addressed by DRASTIC
Maps
Julie Weatherington-Rice
(B&W-OSU FABE), Ava Hottman
(OEPA-SW Retired), Earl Finbar
Murphy (OSU-Law Retired), Ann
D. Christy (OSU FABE) &
Michael Angle (ODNR DOGS)
Paper in April 2006 Issue
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle
/1811/36428/V106N2_64.pdf?sequence=1

28. Contacts for Ohio Journal of
Science Papers & this Presentation
Ohio DRASTIC Maps, ODNR DOW Water
Resources, Jim Raab,
jim.raab@dnr.state.oh.us
ODNR Div. of Geological Survey/OFFWG
Survey/OFFWG
Mike Angle, mike.angle@dnr.state.oh.us
Ohio Academy of Science, Lynn Elfner,
Exec. Dir. oas@iwaynet.net
OFFWG, Dr. Julie Weatherington-Rice,
Weatherington-
B&W, OSU FABE, weatheringtn-
weatheringtn-
rice.1@osu.edu
OFFWG, Dr. Ann Christy, OSU FABE,
christy.14@osu.edu
Keeping Ohio’s Water Clean
Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group