C/®,	EPA Considering Application
for Sole-source Aquifer Status
Environmental Protection
Agency
Michindoh Aquifer
Bryan, Ohio	September 2009
For more information
If you have questions about the
proposed designation of Michindoh
Aquifer as a sole source of drinking
water, contact:
William Spaulding
EPA Region 5 (WG-15J)
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
312-886-9262
spaulding.william@epa.gov.
Call Region 5 toll-free,
800-621-8431, weekdays,
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
You may inspect a copy of the
Michindoh Sole Source Aquifer
Petition at the EPA Region 5 office
in Chicago (address above). Contact
Spaulding for an appointment. You
may also see the petition at:
City of Bryan
Municipal Utilities Office
841 E. Edgerton St.
Or visit:
www.epa.gov/region5/water/gwdw/
index.htm
Definition
EPA defines a sole or principal
source aquifer as an aquifer that
supplies at least 50 percent of the
drinking water consumed in the area
overlying the aquifer. This is one
way for EPA to protect drinking
water supplies in areas where there
are few or no alternative sources to
the ground water resource and
where, if contamination occurred,
using an alternative source would be
extremely expensive.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to approve an application
from the city of Bryan. Ohio, to designate the Michindoh Aquifer as a
"sole-source" aquifer. That designation means the aquifer is the only
source of drinking water for people in a nine-county area that includes
parts of three states.
The area includes all of Ohio's Williams County and parts of Defiance and
Fulton counties in Ohio; Allen, DeKalb and Steuben counties in Indiana;
and Hillsdale and Lenawee counties in Michigan.
EPA is accepting comments from the public until Friday, Nov. 6. If you
wish to make a comment, send it to William Spaulding (see box, left) at
EP As Region 5 office in Chicago. Contact Spaulding if you would like to
ask Region 5 to schedule a public meeting regarding the request. Region 5
officials will review and respond to all comments received. The decision
to grant the request will become final if there are no significant comments
from the public.
The Safe Drinking Water Act gives EPA the authority to designate an
aquifer as a sole source of drinking water for a designated area. Once such
a designation is made, EPA is obligated to review all federally funded
projects in the area in order to determine their potential for contaminating
the aquifer.
This map shows aquifer boundaries and the location of public water systems in the area.

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