Ohio EPA fires 2, demotes another in wake of Sebring water crisis

SEBRING

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency fired two employees in its Central Office and demoted another in its Northeast District Office in the wake of Sebring Village water lead crisis.

In a news release Wednesday, Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said the actions were taken following an internal administrative review of the Sebring water issue. He said the investigation concluded that an Ohio EPA Central Office employee responsible for sending laboratory results from the Central Office failed to ensure that data was provided to the field office to help it conduct its review. That employee was terminated for nonperformance and the employee’s supervisor fired for not properly managing an employee who had an existing record of performance issues.

In addition, a manager in the Northeast District Office was demoted for not elevating the Sebring issue to management or the agency’s director when the district informed the village of elevated lead levels on Dec. 3, 2015.