HBAC 164: Cicada Summer w/ Don Kloss

Tim bangs drums on this record!

For this installment of the Hilliard Beacon our usual hosts Jordan, Tim and Kevin welcome local certified naturalist and author Don Kloss to hold court on a range of important issues and bring light to some lesser known or fading Hilliard history.

EPA Gives Tech World a Brake Check

In the growing pushback to data center ubiquity across the US the Ohio EPA issued a consequential decision whereby approvals for wastewater dispersal will have to be worked out on a project by project basis. This individual process had been the standard in almost every prior case of projects of this type but the decision heads off a proposed general permit that would have allowed data centers without sewer access to discharge wastewater back into rivers, lakes and streams.

Don brought up the famed local Blatz Lake being filled in with little fanfare and after just a few minutes digging I found another EPA document pertaining to its filling. Interesting to note that as recently as 2024 the site plans were all still showing connectivity to AEP via onsite substation with no indication of current plans for “behind the meter” fuel cell generation.

Local History & Brood X

We let Don take us through the known history of Ohio Cicada and feature some of his digital work from archive site Central Ohio Nature.

Days of Local Future Past

We also spend some time talking the new Hilliard e-bike and micro mobility ordinance. Kevin leads us through his latest reporting and Don, as an avid e-bike and trail user wondered at their compatibility for such a wide variety of users and speeds.

Don also took a moment to highlight a popular post he’d made recently on NextDoor regarding a famed Ohio Wyandot native who refused the removal order and we share that history for you here as well…

You can click this link and visit the Dublin Historical Society website for a more complete accounting of the life and time of Kihue (who came to be known as Bill Moose.)

Thanks for listening, Hilliard!