Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) The director may designate a watershed to
be in distress and
within the
designated watershed boundaries set requirements for:
(1)
Storage,
handling, and land application of manure;
(2)
Control of the
erosion of sediment and substances attached thereto; and
(3)
Associated
nutrient management plans for land and operations.
(B)
In
evaluating a potential designation, the director may consider whether:
(1) The watershed is listed as impaired by
nutrients and/or sediments from agricultural sources as determined by the
director of the Ohio environmental protection
agency and published in the "Ohio Integrated
Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report"
which can be found by visiting the
Ohio environmental protection agency's website
www.epa.ohio.gov; or
(2)
The waters
are identified as such in an approved "Total Maximum Daily Load Report"
pursuant to rule
3745-2-12 of the Administrative
Code as required by Section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act;
(3) The watershed or a
portion of the watershed exhibits conditions that are a threat to public health
based on information provided by the Ohio department of health or local health
district;
(4) Streams, lakes, or
other waterbodies within the watershed exhibit periodic evidence of algal
and/or cyanobacterial blooms capable of producing toxins that are harmful to
humans, domestic animals, or wildlife;
(5)
There is a threat to, or presence of contaminants in public or private water
supplies;
(6) There is a threat
to, or presence of contaminants in a primary contact recreational water or a
bathing water as designated in Chapter 3745-1 of the Administrative
Code;
(7) Other unacceptable
nuisance conditions exist including the depletion of dissolved oxygen in water
that results in impacts to aquatic life;
(8)
Other situations as determined by the director upon consultation with other
federal, state and local agencies.
(C) Prior to proposing
to designate a watershed in distress, the director shall prepare and issue a
report documenting the factors in the watershed relating to the items in
paragraph (B) of this rule.
(D) No designation of a
watershed in distress shall be issued until the Ohio soil and water
conservation commission consents by a majority vote to a proposed
designation.
(E) The director may
remove the watershed in distress designation upon reasonable confirmation of a
sustained recovery, restoration, and mitigation
of the factors leading to the original designation.
