February 26, 1999
Watershed coalition seeks to SWAP pollution for cleanup
By Carol Bogart
Staff Writer
SWAP -- the EPA's Source Water Assessment and Protection Program -- was the main focus of Thursday night's meeting of the Sandusky River Watershed Coalition.
The coalition meets quarterly to discuss such things as stream quality in the Honey Creek Watershed.
Those in attendance learned that Ohio Environmental Protection Agency stream standards regarding water quality have not been attained for Honey Creek, from Broken Knife to Silver Creek.
In the Sandusky River watershed in general, as of 1998, agency's Division of Surface Water reported improvement but reported ''the most difficult causes and sources of impairment (of streams) remain.''
Identifying and prioritizing possible polluters is one program under way within the coalition. It hopes that by next year, funding sources for any needed cleanup also will be identified.
Mike Baker, of Ohio EPA's Division of Drinking and Ground Water in Columbus, talked to the coalition Thursday night. Baker -- originally from downriver, in Fremont -- said he had a personal reason for being impressed with the turnout.
''I'm glad to see so many people here who care enough about their water resources'' to attend the meeting.
Baker said 1996 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act regulate public water supplies such as those for Tiffin and other municipalities. Also regulated and considered ''public water supplies'' are schools that have their own wells. The act requires the protection of water resources serving public water systems -- resources like groundwater and the Sandusky River.
Ohio EPA, Baker said, is in the process of making an inventory of potential polluters as well as determining strategies for preventing contamination. How land is used is being studied. Included in the review: the storing and disposal of chemicals.
Eventually, Baker said, the EPA will address ''emergency management'' of potential contaminant sources in ''cooperation with the owner.'' Although the Safe Drinking Water Act amendments only requires the EPA to do assessment work and provide regional summaries, Baker says Ohio EPA ''wants to get some protection activities in place. We'll be expending a lot of resources across the state.''
Baker said, however, that compliance will be on a ''voluntary basis'' -- left up to ''local decision makers and elected officials.''