The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering the strongest protections the federal Clean Water Act allows states to enact to the Big and Little Darby Creeks, which would be the first such designation in Ohio.
In its recently released 2023 water quality standards triennial review, the agency said it will review recategorizing the Big and Little Darby Creeks as Outstanding National Resource Waters.
The Clean Water Act gives states the authority to make that designation to protect waterways that have high water quality.
According to a statement from Ohio EPA spokesman James Lee, the potential impact is unknown at this point. "Part of the comment and rule-making process would be to determine any future allowances," the statement said.
The statement said that if the agency pursued the designation, the process could take more than a year to evaluate public and stakeholder comments and engage in the rule-making process.
That consideration comes as Plain City and Madison and Union counties gear for more residential and commercial development as Greater Columbus' footprint continues to expand.
In June, the Ohio EPA said it planned on extending protections to the Big Darby Creek in Plain City and Madison County that are similar to those in Franklin County, where the 2006 Big Darby Accord lays out a framework for protecting the watershed within the county.
Earlier this year, groups such as the Ohio Environmental Council, the Darby Creek Association, the Center for Biological Diversity, American Rivers, Ohio Scenic Rivers Association, Forest Keeper, Sierra Club Ohio and the Nature Conservancy submitted comments to the EPA for the designation.
John Tetzloff, president of the Darby Creek Association, said that when the Ohio EPA says they’re going to initiate a rulemaking effort, that means officials will draw it up and take public comment.
"I think they think it has merit," he said.
Asked whether he believes Ohio EPA believes it needs to take more steps to protect the Darby watershed as development pressures increase, Tetzloff said, "That’s fair to say they have a concern, sure."
The Plain City area and Madison and Union counties are expected to continue to grow over the next two decades, as Plain City aggressively pursues annexation and developers eye the Route 33 and Route 161 corridors, and Madison County plans to expand its sewer system as homes and businesses spring from fields. The Ohio EPA estimated that Plain City's population would grow from 3,831 to 21,000 over those next 20 years.