EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a five-part series looking at the historic issue of flooding in Richland County, its impact and potential ideas in dealing with the problem.
MANSFIELD — Could CAUV monies be allocated to help maintain local rivers? Local and state politicians say, in theory, it’s possible, but they find it unlikely.
“No, probably not,” State Rep. Mark Romanchuk (R) said.
Congressman Bob Gibbs (R) agrees.
“You’d have to change state law. Or you’d have to convince the schools to say, ‘OK, you can use some of my money; I don’t think that will happen,” Gibbs said with a chuckle.
According to Romanchuk, CAUV tax money, much like property tax money, is divided up to schools in the county and various tax levies like the health and mental health levies.
So CAUV money will likely never be used to maintain rivers, streams and creeks. But Gibbs said people like Lucas farmer Richard Masters and Madison business owner Dan Tucker are asking the right questions. Their questions are part of a much larger, national conversation and are creating a rift between politicians on both sides of the aisle.
“We’re fighting this on a federal level. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers put out a rule that expands the federal jurisdiction of water. So now, waters of the U.S. requires permits to do anything, basically. Even puddles,” Gibbs chided.
Gibbs was referring to the Clean Water Rule. It is an attempt to “ensure that waters protected under the (1972) Clean Water Act are more precisely defined, more predictable, easier for businesses and industry to understand and consistent with the law and the latest science,” said a US EPA spokesperson.
The Clean Water Rule does not regulate puddles, he noted.
“In fact, puddles are explicitly excluded from coverage under the Clean Water Act,” he wrote in an email, citing Rule Text § 230.3(s)(2)(iv)(G) where it states, “The following are not ‘waters of the United States’ … puddles.”
The rule, which passed Aug. 28, 2015, is currently under judicial scrutiny due to litigation initiated by mostly Republican politicians and special interest groups who argue the rule expands federal jurisdiction of state waters. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) is among the groups standing against the federal rule.
“This rule clearly violates both the language and the spirit of the Clean Water Act, which recognizes the rights of states to serve as trustees of their natural resources,” DeWine said.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Mansfield who is representing Ohio, supports the rule and noted its aim is to clarify the issue.
“It is my hope that this rule will end more than a decade of confusion as to when a permit is needed,” Brown said. “The Clean Water Rule clarifies current law to give businesses, farmers and state and local governments guidance that will better protect Ohioans’ drinking water and Lake Erie without burdening local farming activity.”
The US Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment on their stance as it relates to the Clean Water Rule for this story because “the rule is in litigation.”
Ohio Attorney General Lawsuit against EPA
To summarize, the issue is not limited to the maintenance of rivers and streams on individual pieces of land like Masters’ and Tucker’s. The issue’s scope is much broader, one that transcends state lines and now occupies federal courts.
The bigger picture is framed by political implications and it now includes the manipulation of water flowing through rivers and streams to prevent pollution and flooding — the latter of which is an issue Richland County knows all too well.
Richland County: a deep, underwater history
The quaint, quiet towns that are Shelby and Bellville sit as the north and south anchors of Richland County. Their populations combined do not exceed 11,000, but when it rains, memories of traumatic floods inevitably float to the surface of every one of their minds.
The first hard hit the county suffered the infamous Great Flood of 1913 — which claimed an estimated 450 lives in Ohio and accrued a third of a billion dollars in damage across the 20 states it impacted.
Recovered newspaper clips reveal stories of devastation, loss of life and property. They also reveal a start to a conversation that has transcended into present time: what can we do to prevent this from happening again?
“T.R. Barnes, president of the Barnes Manufacturing company, one of the factories which suffered a very heavy loss in the flood, stated that he believed something ought to be done immediately to prevent the recurrence of a flood and that he would lend his support to any project that might be considered to relieve present conditions,” reads a local news article published March 1913.
The essence of that question spread nationally throughout the 20th century, when states suffered catastrophic natural disasters. In response, federal agencies sprouted up throughout the U.S.
Because of the increasing difficulty managing the innumerable agencies all striving to do the same thing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was formed in 1979, according to a FEMA spokesperson.
Despite federal consolidation, the rains have not ceased. Ohio has received $214 million in public FEMA grants to provide relief for flooding catastrophes since 2001. That amount does not reflect monies earmarked for other catastrophic events that relate to Homeland Security, FEMA’s most recent added statutory authority.
The numbers tell a simple narrative: Ohio is a significant part of a six-state region that finds itself inundated with flooding issues. It’s a costly puzzle to solve, one which local governments are all familiar with; Shelby, Bellville and Mansfield most notably.
“The water has to go somewhere. And it naturally goes where it’s supposed to go,” said former Shelby mayor Marilyn John, now a Richland County Commissioner.
According to John, the city of Shelby has a storied past of an inundated downtown — the Black Fork of the Mohican River splits the city in east and west sides. Shelby is vulnerable to flooding because of its geography, she explained.
Shelby’s downtown business and residential area came under water in 2007 when Floodplain Manager Joe Gies said a 500-year-flood hit the town. It was the worst flood residents experienced since 1913; in fact, Shelby was the subject of a FEMA Case Study published in December 2012.
Gies said the study gave the city impetus to seek grant monies to help mitigate flood damage costs. As a result, Shelby purchased 50 houses affected by flooding and demolished them. What remains now is a bare park with potential and memories.
The project led him to present at the 2014 Statewide Floodplain Management Conference in Columbus and won him and the city awards.
Floodplain Management Success Story Shelby, Ohio
“The challenges we have is we need to stop the water before it gets here, just slow it down,” Gies said.
Bellville Mayor Darrell Banks said floods seem to be getting worse and more frequent.
“The few years I’ve been mayor we had five minor floods from 2008 to 2013. The one in 2013 had much more damage, and they (the floods) kept getting closer together,” Banks said.
Mansfield has seen such consistent flooding in the same spot for so many years that FEMA designated it a floodplain. Mayor Tim Theaker said the city sustained damage to the floodplain after two floods in 2013 alone.
“Sixth Street is very prone to flooding. There’s a congestion of water and accumulation of a lot of water — that’s where it floods. It also floods down through the post office area and part of that floodplain,” Theaker said.
So what’s the solution? (We’ll take a look at the foundation of an idea in tomorrow’s story).
