Ohio water system operator failed to notify public of unsafe lead levels

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Ohio water system operator failed to notify public of unsafe lead levels

Associated Press in Cleveland, Ohio
Tuesday 26 January 2016 00.11 GMT

Ohio is sending pallets of bottled water and testing kits to several communities after environmental officials said the operator of a small water system failed to notify the public for months that unsafe levels of lead had been found in some homes.

The state Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order Monday forbidding James Bates from working at the Sebring village water treatment plant and informing him that the agency intends to revoke his operating license for endangering the public and for submitting “misleading, inaccurate or false reports”.

Ohio EPA director Craig Butler said he asked the US EPA to open a criminal investigation of what occurred in Sebring, a village about 60 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The issue in Sebring comes at a time when problems in Flint, Michigan, have grabbed national headlines. Operators at Flint’s water treatment plant failed to treat water to make it less corrosive and caused high levels of lead in tap water throughout the city. Sebring’s issue is similar, but on a vastly smaller scale.

The Youngstown Vindicator reported Monday that Bates has been placed on administrative leave. Bates declined to comment when reached at home.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/25/ohio-water-system-operator-failed-to-notify-public-unsafe-lead-levels

[Nihil]

1. "failed to notify the public for months"

Yes, I think that deserves "a criminal investigation" as a start.

Wonder how many other such operators are going to be "spending more
time with their families", "taking administrative leave" and other euphonisms
for "Oops, I've been caught ..."?