The city’s current permit, issued by the Ohio EPA, requires the city to implement six minimum control measures. The six minimum controls covered in the permit are:
- Public Education and Outreach: the city uses billboard with different themes to reach the local population to educate them about pollution and/or illegal dumping along with distributing educational materials
- Public Involvement and Participation: the city’s annual Clean Sweep of the Great Miami River event annually satisfies this requirement
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination: the city annually identifies and screens various stormwater outfalls to detect sources of illicit discharges
- Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control: site plans are reviewed to ensure stormwater runoff controls are in place prior to construction along with site inspections during construction
- Post-Construction Stormwater Management: a combination of structural and non-structural practices to address runoff is required in Codified Ordinances
- Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations: city facilities are annually inspected to prevent or reduce pollutant runoff
We continue to focus primarily on enforcement through education rather than penalties.