43
OEPA believes fired, demoted staffers neglected duty
COLUMBUS
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has identified the two Columbus office staffers it fired and the Twinsburg office staff member it demoted over their purported failure to ensure notification of their OEPA colleagues concerning toxic lead in the Sebring water system.
Terminated Wednesday for purported major neglect of duty were: Kenneth Baughman of Westerville, Environmental Specialist 2, who earned $70,491 annually; and his boss, Julie Spangler of Blacklick, environmental supervisor, who earned $82,451 a year.
Baughman failed to ensure that lab results were sent from the Columbus office to the Twinsburg office, so Twinsburg staff could determine whether the lead-action level was exceeded and trigger any necessary notice to water customers or enforcement actions, OEPA said in a news release.
Spangler was fired for not properly managing Baughman and “not providing appropriate corrective counseling or progressive discipline, despite being instructed to do so,” OEPA said.
Demoted Wednesday from environmental manager to environmental supervisor was Nancy Rice of Cuyahoga Falls, whose salary dropped from $90,979 to $82,451 annually. Rice was accused of neglect of duty.
Rice was demoted for failing to elevate the Sebring issue to Butler or other senior OEPA management when her office informed village officials Dec. 3; and she should have notified OEPA brass sooner, OEPA said.
On Wednesday, Baughman and Spangler were sent termination letters and Rice was sent a demotion letter signed by Craig W. Butler, OEPA director, who said he wasn’t notified of the Sebring lead issue until Jan. 21.
Richard Giroux, Sebring village manager, declined to comment on the firings and demotion.
“I don’t have any comment on the internal affairs of the EPA. My focus is to continue to meet our obligations to the EPA and continue to work on resolving the current situation,” Giroux said.
He said his primary focus in recent days has been to work with W.E. Quicksall & Associates Inc. engineers of New Philadelphia on the soon-to-begin application of orthophosphate to the water as an anti-corrosive agent.
The village has been working with OEPA on ways to adjust water chemistry to make the water less corrosive and to make it less likely that lead will leach into the water from service connections and plumbing containing lead.
The OEPA has revoked the license of James Bates, the village’s former water-treatment plant operator, barring him from operating any Ohio public water system.
In declaring a Sebring water emergency Jan. 26, Butler accused Bates of negligence or incompetence and said Bates submitted “misleading, inaccurate or false reports.” Bates has emphatically denied falsifying reports.
The Ohio EPA received another round of test results Thursday from homeowners in Sebring who asked to have their tap water tested, and 50 out of 54 samples were below the federal allowable limit for lead. Combined with earlier voluntary test results received, 906 of 951 samples have been below the federal allowable level.