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Do environmental terms sometimes sound like a foreign language to you? If so, you’re not alone. Many businesses and communities have difficulty keeping up with the latest environmental lingo. This feature will cover some common environmental terms you may encounter.

Denison University is a liberal arts college founded in 1831 located in Granville, Ohio, with 2,250 students and 226 professors. Denison received an Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) Gold Award from Ohio EPA in August 2016. Since 2008, Denison University has included sustainability as one of its goals and promotes a multi-disciplinary approach to sustainability that balances environmental, economic and social responsibility. Their environmental stewardship efforts are strongly supported by the Office of the President, which, in 2008, created a Campus Sustainability Coordinator and Committee that provides guidance to the University.

In a circular economy, all products and by-products recirculate. Over the next few decades, moving to a circular economy will dramatically transform our manufacturing and recycling industries. This contrasts with the past take, make and dispose economy. The new circular economy is attractive to everyone - including private, non-profit and government institutions - because of the combined economic and environmental benefits. Materials will continue to flow in the economy through recycling, remanufacturing, reuse and maintenance. For state policy makers, the question is how can agencies support this change in the material economy, and what programs can accelerate this transition? To help, Ohio EPA is embracing recent advances in software and implementing the Ohio Materials Marketplace, an online platform for companies to post available waste and by product materials that other companies may re-use in their production process.

There are many ways to build a sustainability program. Each organization needs to find the path that works for them, but here are some common themes your program can follow.

High disposal fees and raw material costs can be a financial drain on your metal finishing operation. To remain competitive and go beyond compliance, pollution prevention (P2) can be the easiest and best management choice for reducing these costs and waste issues.

The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA) is a non-regulatory agency created by the Ohio General Assembly in 1970. OAQDA's mission is to provide for the conservation of air as a natural resource of the state by preventing or abating air pollution. They accomplish this by helping finance air quality facilities for small and large businesses, utilities, government and universities.

Storm water is rain and snow melt that runs off the land and enters streams, rivers and lakes. Runoff from outdoor activities or material storage areas can contain pollutants that can degrade water quality and threaten human health. Proper storm water management minimizes these threats. Many businesses are subject to Ohio EPA’s storm water permitting program based on their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, including manufacturing, transportation, recycling businesses, wineries, compost/mulch sites, concrete producers, scrapyards and woodworking/lumber operations.

Created in 2000, the Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP) uses interest monies from Water Control Pollution Loan Fund (WPCLF) sponsor projects to fund preservation and restoration of high-quality water resources. Throughout Ohio, more than $165 million has been awarded for projects in 30 counties and 69 watersheds.

The City of Oregon’s water treatment plant is a regional public water system serving 29,000 people in several northwestern Ohio communities and counties. Their water intake is in the western basin of Lake Erie. The shallow depth of the basin, combined with factors such as runoff, nutrients, winds, currents and invasive mussels can contribute to algae blooms from June to September of each year. Certain types of algae, in turn, release microcystins that are generally harmful upon contact.