UPDATE | Ohio EPA response to Sebring water woe criticized

SEBRING — State lawmakers are calling into question the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of a finding that drinking water from the Sebring village distribution system contained elevated lead and copper levels.

That finding led the Sebring school district to cancel classes today. The village issued an advisory to the system’s 8,100 customers in Sebring, Beloit and Maple Ridge warning that pregnant women and children should not drink tap water from the system due to a finding that water from seven homes had lead levels of 21 parts per billion, which exceeds the federal-action level of 15 ppb.

Public notification appears to have been spurred by issuance of citations by the Ohio EPA on Thursday, according to state lawmakers.

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said he got pulled into a conference call about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, which he thought to be odd, especially when he learned more about the time line of events.

“The testing was done in the summer; the results came back in the fall. It’s January,” he said. “Why was yesterday the day?”

He and state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, today sent a letter to Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler asking for clarification.

For the complete story, read Saturday's Vindicator and Vindy.com