Ohio EPA Considering Discharge Permit for Huber Heights Water Plant

The agency will host a public meeting March 1 about a proposed wastewater discharge from the Huber Heights drinking water treatment plant. The permit would allow the city to discharge up to 1.3 million gallons per day of filtered reject water to the Great Miami River.

Ohio EPA announced it will host a public meeting on March 1 about a proposed wastewater discharge from the Huber Heights drinking water treatment plant. The meeting will be held at the Huber Heights Police Department Community Meeting Room, 6121 Taylorsville Road. An information session begins at 6 p.m. with a hearing immediately following, during which the public can submit comments about the application for the discharge permit.

The city has applied for a permit to discharge wastewater from a new softening system at the Rip Rap Road water plant. If approved, the permit would allow the city to discharge up to 1.3 million gallons per day of filtered reject water from the process. The reject water would have higher concentrations of dissolved solids, such as minerals and salts, that are naturally present in groundwater, the state agency reported.

Its announcement said the proposed project may result in a change from current water quality conditions but cannot violate Ohio's water quality standards that protect human health and the environment, and that Ohio EPA will consider technical, economic, social and environmental aspects of the project before deciding whether to issue or deny the permit. The water treatment plant would discharge the water to the Great Miami River, which is a tributary of the Ohio River.

Ohio EPA will accept written comments on the permit application through March 8. Anyone may submit comments or request to be on the mailing list for information. To comment or receive information on the permit application, write to: Ohio EPA-DSW, Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049 or email [email protected].