Effective January 1, 2018, the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) asbestos program will be transferred to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Division of Air Pollution Control (DAPC). The new combined asbestos program includes some important changes of which regulated industries should be aware, including:

• No changes to fee amounts in the law or rules have been made but the implementation of fee amounts has been aligned with the regulations.
• All fees must be paid at the time a form is submitted for it to be accepted and considered complete.
• One merged notification form will allow more than one project location to be submitted at a time.
• New software to submit online notification forms in Ohio EPA’s eBusiness Center is coming Jan. 5, 2018.
• All other forms may be submitted through Ohio EPA’s eBusiness Center beginning in summer 2018.
• Any hard copy forms must be sent to Ohio EPA’s Central Office.
• Combined inspections will be conducted to assess compliance with the merged asbestos program.
• Ohio EPA will have the authority to suspend and revoke licenses.

The rules governing asbestos hazard abatement contractors, specialists, project designers, workers, training courses and other professionals currently regulated by ODH in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3701-34 will be adopted by Ohio EPA under OAC Chapter 3745-22 on Jan. 1, 2018. Ohio EPA’s rules based on the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) will remain in OAC Chapter 3745-20. Several definitions in the licensing rules were changed to align with Ohio EPA’s regulations. The requirements that determine if a 10-day prior notification must be submitted to the Agency remain the same for both programs.

For more details on the upcoming changes, contact addresses, and implementation timelines, click here.

DAPC is also hosting the following webinars about the transition:

December 5, 2017, Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health Asbestos Program Merger: Land Banks.

December 6, 2017, Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health Asbestos Program Merger.

December 13, 2017, Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health Asbestos Program Merger: The new merged project notification form – Hard Copy.

January 4, 2018, Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health Asbestos Program Merger: Online Notification Form.