Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 6111 | Water Pollution Control
Section 6111.03 | Water Pollution Control Powers of Director of Environmental Protection.

Effective: October 17, 2019
Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly
The director of environmental protection may do any of the following:
(A) Develop plans and programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of new or existing pollution of the waters of the state;
(B) Advise, consult, and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the federal government, other states, and interstate agencies and with affected groups, political subdivisions, and industries in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. Before adopting, amending, or rescinding a standard or rule pursuant to division (G) of this section or section 6111.041 or 6111.042 of the Revised Code, the director shall do all of the following:
(1) Mail notice to each statewide organization that the director determines represents persons who would be affected by the proposed standard or rule, amendment thereto, or rescission thereof at least thirty-five days before any public hearing thereon;
(2) Mail a copy of each proposed standard or rule, amendment thereto, or rescission thereof to any person who requests a copy, within five days after receipt of the request therefor;
(3) Consult with appropriate state and local government agencies or their representatives, including statewide organizations of local government officials, industrial representatives, and other interested persons.
Although the director is expected to discharge these duties diligently, failure to mail any such notice or copy or to so consult with any person shall not invalidate any proceeding or action of the director.
(C) Administer grants from the federal government and from other sources, public or private, for carrying out any of its functions, all such moneys to be deposited in the state treasury and kept by the treasurer of state in a separate fund subject to the lawful orders of the director;
(D) Administer state grants for the construction of sewage and waste collection and treatment works;
(E) Encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and demonstrations relating to water pollution, and the causes, prevention, control, and abatement thereof, that are advisable and necessary for the discharge of the director's duties under this chapter;
(F) Collect and disseminate information relating to water pollution and prevention, control, and abatement thereof;
(G) Adopt, amend, and rescind rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code governing the procedure for hearings, the filing of reports, the issuance of permits, the issuance of industrial water pollution control certificates, and all other matters relating to procedure;
(H) Issue, modify, or revoke orders to prevent, control, or abate water pollution by such means as the following:
(1) Prohibiting or abating discharges of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the waters of the state;
(2) Requiring the construction of new disposal systems or any parts thereof, or the modification, extension, or alteration of existing disposal systems or any parts thereof;
(3) Prohibiting additional connections to or extensions of a sewerage system when the connections or extensions would result in an increase in the polluting properties of the effluent from the system when discharged into any waters of the state;
(4) Requiring compliance with any standard or rule adopted under sections 6111.01 to 6111.05 of the Revised Code or term or condition of a permit.
In the making of those orders, wherever compliance with a rule adopted under section 6111.042 of the Revised Code is not involved, consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the director shall give consideration to, and base the determination on, evidence relating to the technical feasibility and economic reasonableness of complying with those orders and to evidence relating to conditions calculated to result from compliance with those orders, and their relation to benefits to the people of the state to be derived from such compliance in accomplishing the purposes of this chapter.
(I) Review plans, specifications, or other data relative to disposal systems or any part thereof in connection with the issuance of orders, permits, and industrial water pollution control certificates under this chapter;
(J)(1) Issue, revoke, modify, or deny sludge management permits and permits for the discharge of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the waters of the state, and for the installation or modification of disposal systems or any parts thereof in compliance with all requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and mandatory regulations adopted thereunder, including regulations adopted under section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and set terms and conditions of permits, including schedules of compliance, where necessary. In issuing permits for sludge management, the director shall not allow the placement of sewage sludge on frozen ground in conflict with rules adopted under this chapter. Any person who discharges, transports, or handles storm water from an animal feeding facility, as defined in section 903.01 of the Revised Code, or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding operation, as both terms are defined in that section, is not required to obtain a permit under division (J)(1) of this section for the installation or modification of a disposal system involving pollutants or storm water or any parts of such a system on and after the date on which the director of agriculture has finalized the program required under division (A)(1) of section 903.02 of the Revised Code. In addition, any person who discharges, transports, or handles storm water from an animal feeding facility, as defined in section 903.01 of the Revised Code, or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding operation, as both terms are defined in that section, is not required to obtain a permit under division (J)(1) of this section for the discharge of storm water from an animal feeding facility or pollutants from a concentrated animal feeding operation on and after the date on which the United States environmental protection agency approves the NPDES program submitted by the director of agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code.
Any permit terms and conditions set by the director shall be designed to achieve and maintain full compliance with the national effluent limitations, national standards of performance for new sources, and national toxic and pretreatment effluent standards set under that act, and any other mandatory requirements of that act that are imposed by regulation of the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency. If an applicant for a sludge management permit also applies for a related permit for the discharge of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the waters of the state, the director may combine the two permits and issue one permit to the applicant.
A sludge management permit is not required for an entity that treats or transports sewage sludge or for a sanitary landfill when all of the following apply:
(a) The entity or sanitary landfill does not generate the sewage sludge.
(b) Prior to receipt at the sanitary landfill, the entity has ensured that the sewage sludge meets the requirements established in rules adopted by the director under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code concerning disposal of municipal solid waste in a sanitary landfill.
(c) Disposal of the sewage sludge occurs at a sanitary landfill that complies with rules adopted by the director under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code.
As used in division (J)(1) of this section, "sanitary landfill" means a sanitary landfill facility, as defined in rules adopted under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code, that is licensed as a solid waste facility under section 3734.05 of the Revised Code.
(2) An application for a permit or renewal thereof shall be denied if any of the following applies:
(a) The secretary of the army determines in writing that anchorage or navigation would be substantially impaired thereby;
(b) The director determines that the proposed discharge or source would conflict with an areawide waste treatment management plan adopted in accordance with section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
(c) The administrator of the United States environmental protection agency objects in writing to the issuance or renewal of the permit in accordance with section 402 (d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
(d) The application is for the discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste into the waters of the United States.
(3) To achieve and maintain applicable standards of quality for the waters of the state adopted pursuant to section 6111.041 of the Revised Code, the director shall impose, where necessary and appropriate, as conditions of each permit, water quality related effluent limitations in accordance with sections 301, 302, 306, 307, and 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and, to the extent consistent with that act, shall give consideration to, and base the determination on, evidence relating to the technical feasibility and economic reasonableness of removing the polluting properties from those wastes and to evidence relating to conditions calculated to result from that action and their relation to benefits to the people of the state and to accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter.
(4) Where a discharge having a thermal component from a source that is constructed or modified on or after October 18, 1972, meets national or state effluent limitations or more stringent permit conditions designed to achieve and maintain compliance with applicable standards of quality for the waters of the state, which limitations or conditions will ensure protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife in or on the body of water into which the discharge is made, taking into account the interaction of the thermal component with sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes, the director shall not impose any more stringent limitation on the thermal component of the discharge, as a condition of a permit or renewal thereof for the discharge, during a ten-year period beginning on the date of completion of the construction or modification of the source, or during the period of depreciation or amortization of the source for the purpose of section 167 or 169 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, whichever period ends first.
(5) The director shall specify in permits for the discharge of sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes, the net volume, net weight, duration, frequency, and, where necessary, concentration of the sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes that may be discharged into the waters of the state. The director shall specify in those permits and in sludge management permits that the permit is conditioned upon payment of applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter upon the premises of the person to whom the permit has been issued for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, rules adopted thereunder, or the terms and conditions of a permit, order, or other determination. The director shall issue or deny an application for a sludge management permit or a permit for a new discharge, for the installation or modification of a disposal system, or for the renewal of a permit, within one hundred eighty days of the date on which a complete application with all plans, specifications, construction schedules, and other pertinent information required by the director is received.
(6) The director may condition permits upon the installation of discharge or water quality monitoring equipment or devices and the filing of periodic reports on the amounts and contents of discharges and the quality of receiving waters that the director prescribes. The director shall condition each permit for a government-owned disposal system or any other "treatment works" as defined in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act upon the reporting of new introductions of industrial waste or other wastes and substantial changes in volume or character thereof being introduced into those systems or works from "industrial users" as defined in section 502 of that act, as necessary to comply with section 402(b)(8) of that act; upon the identification of the character and volume of pollutants subject to pretreatment standards being introduced into the system or works; and upon the existence of a program to ensure compliance with pretreatment standards by "industrial users" of the system or works. In requiring monitoring devices and reports, the director, to the extent consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, shall give consideration to technical feasibility and economic reasonableness and shall allow reasonable time for compliance.
(7) A permit may be issued for a period not to exceed five years and may be renewed upon application for renewal. In renewing a permit, the director shall consider the compliance history of the permit holder and may deny the renewal if the director determines that the permit holder has not complied with the terms and conditions of the existing permit. A permit may be modified, suspended, or revoked for cause, including, but not limited to, violation of any condition of the permit, obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to disclose fully all relevant facts of the permitted discharge or of the sludge use, storage, treatment, or disposal practice, or changes in any condition that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the permitted activity. No application shall be denied or permit revoked or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which the denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or permit holder by certified mail.
(K) Institute or cause to be instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction proceedings to compel compliance with this chapter or with the orders of the director issued under this chapter, or to ensure compliance with sections 204(b), 307, 308, and 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
(L) Certify to the government of the United States or any agency thereof that an industrial water pollution control facility is in conformity with the state program or requirements for the control of water pollution whenever the certification may be required for a taxpayer under the Internal Revenue Code of the United States, as amended;
(M) Issue, modify, and revoke orders requiring any "industrial user" of any publicly owned "treatment works" as defined in sections 212(2) and 502(18) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to comply with pretreatment standards; establish and maintain records; make reports; install, use, and maintain monitoring equipment or methods, including, where appropriate, biological monitoring methods; sample discharges in accordance with methods, at locations, at intervals, and in a manner that the director determines; and provide other information that is necessary to ascertain whether or not there is compliance with toxic and pretreatment effluent standards. In issuing, modifying, and revoking those orders, the director, to the extent consistent with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, shall give consideration to technical feasibility and economic reasonableness and shall allow reasonable time for compliance.
(N) Exercise all incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
(O) Pursuant to section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, do any of the following:
(1) Issue or deny a section 401 water quality certification to, or, pursuant to an appealable action, waive a section 401 water quality certification for, any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into the waters of the state. Any waiver shall contain a justification for the action.
(2) At the request or concurrence of the certification holder, transfer or modify a section 401 water quality certification;
(3) Revoke a section 401 water quality certification when the director determines that the certification approval was based on false or misleading information.
(P) Administer and enforce the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. In the administration of that program, the director may do any of the following:
(1) Apply and enforce pretreatment standards;
(2) Approve and deny requests for approval of publicly owned treatment works pretreatment programs, oversee those programs, and implement, in whole or in part, those programs under any of the following conditions:
(a) The director has denied a request for approval of the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program;
(b) The director has revoked the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program;
(c) There is no pretreatment program currently being implemented by the publicly owned treatment works;
(d) The publicly owned treatment works has requested the director to implement, in whole or in part, the pretreatment program.
(3) Require that a publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program be incorporated in a permit issued to a publicly owned treatment works as required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, require compliance by publicly owned treatment works with those programs, and require compliance by industrial users with pretreatment standards;
(4) Approve and deny requests for authority to modify categorical pretreatment standards to reflect removal of pollutants achieved by publicly owned treatment works;
(5) Deny and recommend approval of requests for fundamentally different factors variances submitted by industrial users;
(6) Make determinations on categorization of industrial users;
(7) Adopt, amend, or rescind rules and issue, modify, or revoke orders necessary for the administration and enforcement of the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program.
Any approval of a publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program may contain any terms and conditions, including schedules of compliance, that are necessary to achieve compliance with this chapter.
(Q) Except as otherwise provided in this division, adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing procedures, methods, and equipment and other requirements for equipment to prevent and contain discharges of oil and hazardous substances into the waters of the state. The rules shall be consistent with and equivalent in scope, content, and coverage to section 311(j)(1)(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and regulations adopted under it. The director shall not adopt rules under this division relating to discharges of oil from oil production facilities and oil drilling and workover facilities as those terms are defined in that act and regulations adopted under it.
(R)(1) Administer and enforce a program for the regulation of sludge management in this state. In administering the program, the director, in addition to exercising the authority provided in any other applicable sections of this chapter, may do any of the following:
(a) Develop plans and programs for the disposal and utilization of sludge and sludge materials;
(b) Encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and demonstrations relating to the disposal and use of sludge and sludge materials and the impact of sludge and sludge materials on land located in the state and on the air and waters of the state;
(c) Collect and disseminate information relating to the disposal and use of sludge and sludge materials and the impact of sludge and sludge materials on land located in the state and on the air and waters of the state;
(d) Issue, modify, or revoke orders to prevent, control, or abate the use and disposal of sludge and sludge materials or the effects of the use of sludge and sludge materials on land located in the state and on the air and waters of the state;
(e) Adopt and enforce, modify, or rescind rules necessary for the implementation of division (R) of this section. The rules reasonably shall protect public health and the environment, encourage the beneficial reuse of sludge and sludge materials, and minimize the creation of nuisance odors.
The director may specify in sludge management permits the net volume, net weight, quality, and pollutant concentration of the sludge or sludge materials that may be used, stored, treated, or disposed of, and the manner and frequency of the use, storage, treatment, or disposal, to protect public health and the environment from adverse effects relating to those activities. The director shall impose other terms and conditions to protect public health and the environment, minimize the creation of nuisance odors, and achieve compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it and, in doing so, shall consider whether the terms and conditions are consistent with the goal of encouraging the beneficial reuse of sludge and sludge materials.
The director may condition permits on the implementation of treatment, storage, disposal, distribution, or application management methods and the filing of periodic reports on the amounts, composition, and quality of sludge and sludge materials that are disposed of, used, treated, or stored.
An approval of a treatment works sludge disposal program may contain any terms and conditions, including schedules of compliance, necessary to achieve compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.
(2) As a part of the program established under division (R)(1) of this section, the director has exclusive authority to regulate sewage sludge management in this state. For purposes of division (R)(2) of this section, that program shall be consistent with section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and regulations adopted under it and with this section, except that the director may adopt rules under division (R) of this section that establish requirements that are more stringent than section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and regulations adopted under it with regard to monitoring sewage sludge and sewage sludge materials and establishing acceptable sewage sludge management practices and pollutant levels in sewage sludge and sewage sludge materials.
This chapter authorizes the state to participate in any national sludge management program and the national pollutant discharge elimination system, to administer and enforce the publicly owned treatment works pretreatment program, and to issue permits for the discharge of dredged or fill materials, in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. This chapter shall be administered, consistent with the laws of this state and federal law, in the same manner that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act is required to be administered.
(S) Develop technical guidance and offer technical assistance, upon request, for the purpose of minimizing wind or water erosion of soil, and assist in compliance with permits for storm water management issued under this chapter and rules adopted under it.
(T) Study, examine, and calculate nutrient loading from point and nonpoint sources in order to determine comparative contributions by those sources and to utilize the information derived from those calculations to determine the most environmentally beneficial and cost-effective mechanisms to reduce nutrient loading to watersheds in the Lake Erie basin and the Ohio river basin. In order to evaluate nutrient loading contributions, the director or the director's designee shall conduct a study of the nutrient mass balance for both point and nonpoint sources in watersheds in the Lake Erie basin and the Ohio river basin using available data, including both of the following:
(1) Data on water quality and stream flow;
(2) Data on point source discharges into those watersheds.
The director or the director's designee shall report and update the results of the study to coincide with the release of the Ohio integrated water quality monitoring and assessment report prepared by the director.
(U) Establish the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for waters of the state where a TMDL is required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(V) Coordinate with the supervisors of a soil and water conservation district to ensure compliance with rules adopted by the director that pertain to urban sediment and storm water runoff pollution abatement. As used in this division "urban sediment and storm water runoff pollution abatement" has the same meaning as in section 939.01 of the Revised Code.
This section does not apply to residual farm products and manure disposal systems and related management and conservation practices subject to rules adopted pursuant to division (E)(1) of section 939.02 of the Revised Code. For purposes of this exclusion, "residual farm products" and "manure" have the same meanings as in section 939.01 of the Revised Code. However, until the date on which the United States environmental protection agency approves the NPDES program submitted by the director of agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code, this exclusion does not apply to animal waste treatment works having a controlled direct discharge to the waters of the state or any concentrated animal feeding operation, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 122.23(b)(2). On and after the date on which the United States environmental protection agency approves the NPDES program submitted by the director of agriculture under section 903.08 of the Revised Code, this section does not apply to storm water from an animal feeding facility, as defined in section 903.01 of the Revised Code, or to pollutants discharged from a concentrated animal feeding operation, as both terms are defined in that section. Neither of these exclusions applies to the discharge of animal waste into a publicly owned treatment works.
Not later than December 1, 2016, a publicly owned treatment works with a design flow of one million gallons per day or more, or designated as a major discharger by the director, shall be required to begin monthly monitoring of total and dissolved reactive phosphorus pursuant to a new NPDES permit, an NPDES permit renewal, or a director-initiated modification. The director shall include in each applicable new NPDES permit, NPDES permit renewal, or director-initiated modification a requirement that such monitoring be conducted. A director-initiated modification for that purpose shall be considered and processed as a minor modification pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code 3745-33-04. In addition, not later than December 1, 2017, a publicly owned treatment works with a design flow of one million gallons per day or more that, on July 3, 2015, is not subject to a phosphorus limit shall complete and submit to the director a study that evaluates the technical and financial capability of the existing treatment facility to reduce the final effluent discharge of phosphorus to one milligram per liter using possible source reduction measures, operational procedures, and unit process configurations.

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