The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering expanding Big Darby watershed's protections in five central Ohio counties.
The Ohio EPA will explain the proposed updates and take public comments at a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Tolles Career Center, located at 7877 U.S. Highway 42 South in Plain City.
The Big Darby watershed is one of the most biologically diverse in the Midwest and is home to rare and endangered species, including northern riffleshell and clubshell freshwater mussels. Big and Little Darby creeks are both designated as state and national scenic waterways.
In Franklin County, the watershed is protected by the Big Darby Accords, which was signed by 10 local governments, including the cities of Columbus and Hilliard and Franklin County. The 2006 agreement sets forth preservation goals, promotes “responsible growth,” and seeks to create responsible development in environmentally sensitive areas.
Now the Ohio EPA and Gov. Mike DeWine are calling for better preservation in Logan, Union, Champaign, Madison and Pickaway counties. Including Franklin County, the six counties account for the entire watershed.
"We have to find that balance,” Vogel said. “And I think the community really appreciates that."- Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel
Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel said increased protections would mean requiring setbacks from streams and limiting development near wetlands, slopes and forests. The protections are set to be formalized in an update to the water quality plan, better known as “the 208,” in reference to a section of the Clean Water Act.
Despite central Ohio’s rapid growth, Vogel said so far, the update has seen little to no pushback from local governments or private developers. She said the Big Darby area is beautiful and people want to keep it that way.
"We have to find that balance,” Vogel said. “And I think the community really appreciates that. And the developers appreciate that nobody wants to pave paradise and put up a parking lot."
Anthony Sasson with the Darby Creek Association, a nonprofit formed in the 1970s to protect the Big Darby and Little Darby creeks, said the watershed already has special stormwater protections administered by the EPA, but more can be done.
“We need all the local governments to cooperate and go beyond what is in the stormwater permit,” Sasson said. “We need them to focus on acquisition of conservation land, on where development would go, making sure they don’t encroach the scenic river area.”
“This planning has to be based on science. We have to determine if there's a threshold for the amount of development that can be established in the watershed."- Anthony Sasson, Big Darby Association
He said the success of expanded protections will depend on how well they’re executed.
“This planning has to be based on science. We have to determine if there's a threshold for the amount of development that can be established in the watershed,” Sasson said.
Sasson also believes any plan put in place needs to be fluid and undergo regular reviews and adjustments.
“I think this is important for the whole central Ohio area,” Sasson said. “There's conservation planning so that we have some of the best that's left preserved, conserved for the future or otherwise we're possibly going to regret what we did in the 2020s here.”
Tuesday’s meeting will include a presentation, public comment and an opportunity to ask questions, Vogel said.
The Ohio EPA will also accept written comments until 5 p.m. on May 7.
Comments can be submitted to epa.dswcomments@epa.ohio.gov, or mailed to Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water, Attn: Erin Sherer, Division of Surface Water, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216.
