Ohio EPA director to leave next year

COLUMBUS (AP) -- The director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has resigned.
Christopher Jones said Monday that he will leave the agency Jan. 7, just short of six years since being appointed by Gov. Bob Taft.
Jones, chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section at the state attorney general's office for four years before taking over the EPA, did not give a specific reason for leaving.
Taft announced Jones' departure, calling him a "strong leader on behalf of Ohio's environment."
"Under his leadership, Ohio EPA has become more efficient, more effective and more responsive to its stakeholders," Taft said.
Jones was chairman of the Great Lakes Priorities Initiative in which eight states identified priorities for restoring the lakes and got federal funding for a plan.