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By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:10 p.m. EDT, Mar 31, 2009
BOLIVAR: Gov. Ted Strickland should replace Ohio Environmental Protection Agency staffers overseeing a troubled Stark County landfill because of a ''culture of corruption,'' a former EPA official said Tuesday.
The EPA's Southeast District office in Logan should assume oversight of the underground fires and odors at the Countywide Landfill in Pike Township, said Richard Sahli.
Sahli, who represents Club 3000, a group opposed to Countywide Landfill, was the No. 2 man in the Ohio EPA and the agency's chief attorney from 1987 to 1991.
Sahli's concerns are based on a whistle-blower complaint about Countywide filed by an EPA staffer in Columbus.
The situation at Countywide is ''the result of starkly unprofessional misconduct, if not corruption'' at Ohio EPA, Sahli said.
Countywide is being handled largely by EPA staffers in Twinsburg, one of five agency district offices that oversee solid waste, drinking and surface water, and hazardous waste in 15 counties.
Sahli called for Strickland to begin an independent investigation of work conditions at the EPA and to determine whether the agency is fully complying with open-record requirements.
Strickland intends to review the letter, but is confident that EPA Director Chris Korleski is managing the matter, said spokeswoman Amanda Wurst.
The EPA's Twinsburg office referred questions on the matter to Columbus.
''Ohio EPA has been aggressively and appropriately addressing the environmental issues at Countywide Landfill,'' Korleski said. ''As director of Ohio EPA, I have the utmost confidence in my staff members' ability to manage regulatory matters at Countywide Landfill.''
Sahli said he was prompted to call on Strickland for changes after reviewing documents related to the whistle-blower complaint.
The whistle-blower, R. Edwin Gortner, who was in charge of overseeing landfill enforcement cases across Ohio, and his two staffers in Columbus met what Sahli described as ''very strong opposition and even hostility'' from the Twinsburg office and from senior managers in Columbus over how the agency was dealing with Countywide.
Three staffers were driven out of the EPA's solid waste program by what Gortner described as a ''deliberate program of harassment.''
In documents, Gortner said he found evidence of misconduct or incompetent action by the agency. Among his claims:
• Staffers in Twinsburg have unlawfully concealed evidence of groundwater contamination at the landfill.
• The EPA's 2005 decision to allow Countywide to recirculate leachate or landfill liquid, the step that caused the fires to start as the liquid came into contact with buried aluminum waste, was ''reckless and negligent.'' This could make the state liable for cleaning up Countywide at taxpayer expense.
• Twinsburg uses those who are not engineers to make engineering decisions and lets people who are not qualified make health decisions.
Gortner also said the EPA in Twinsburg and Columbus had undertaken ''an orchestrated campaign to avoid compliance with public records requirements.''
Staffers refrained from taking notes at meetings about Countywide because of the fear that the notes would be public records, and the Twinsburg staff routinely kept a separate Countywide ''desk file'' that contains documents not in the public files, Gortner said.
The agency also routinely stamped Countywide documents ''attorney client privileged'' to avoid public scrutiny.
Sahli said that when Gortner raised those issues with his supervisors, he and his staff were harassed and faced a hostile work environment.
Gortner says his computer was searched in violation of EPA policy while he was on vacation. His computers contained draft letters to the Ohio inspector general about the Twinsburg office and the Stark County Health Department about Countywide.
Gortner's supervisors threatened to take away his state-issued cell phone. He was told he ''should stop talking so much about Countywide to people.''
He was also accused of leaking Countywide documents to the public.
Gortner's job was upgraded in 2008 and he was forced to reapply. He was not selected and was moved to a top position in emergency response within the agency.
On Dec. 12, Gortner filed complaints with the Ohio Personnel Board of Review and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration that have jurisdiction over whistle-blower claims. On Feb. 26, the Ohio EPA resolved Gortner's complaint, and that bothers Sahli.
The quick resolution appears to have been done by the EPA to ''cover up Mr. Gortner's claims and avoid giving testimony under oath,'' Sahli said.
Sahli said he became aware of the Gortner paperwork about Countywide about a week ago.
Tuscarawas County Commissioner James Seldenright said Tuesday that he intended to review the material. ''It is very interesting. . .and more than a little troubling,'' he said.
BOLIVAR: Gov. Ted Strickland should replace Ohio Environmental Protection Agency staffers overseeing a troubled Stark County landfill because of a ''culture of corruption,'' a former EPA official said Tuesday.
The EPA's Southeast District office in Logan should assume oversight of the underground fires and odors at the Countywide Landfill in Pike Township, said Richard Sahli.
Sahli, who represents Club 3000, a group opposed to Countywide Landfill, was the No. 2 man in the Ohio EPA and the agency's chief attorney from 1987 to 1991.
Sahli's concerns are based on a whistle-blower complaint about Countywide filed by an EPA staffer in Columbus.
The situation at Countywide is ''the result of starkly unprofessional misconduct, if not corruption'' at Ohio EPA, Sahli said.
Countywide is being handled largely by EPA staffers in Twinsburg, one of five agency district offices that oversee solid waste, drinking and surface water, and hazardous waste in 15 counties.
Sahli called for Strickland to begin an independent investigation of work conditions at the EPA and to determine whether the agency is fully complying with open-record requirements.
Strickland intends to review the letter, but is confident that EPA Director Chris Korleski is managing the matter, said spokeswoman Amanda Wurst.
The EPA's Twinsburg office referred questions on the matter to Columbus.
''Ohio EPA has been aggressively and appropriately addressing the environmental issues at Countywide Landfill,'' Korleski said. ''As director of Ohio EPA, I have the utmost confidence in my staff members' ability to manage regulatory matters at Countywide Landfill.''
Sahli said he was prompted to call on Strickland for changes after reviewing documents related to the whistle-blower complaint.
The whistle-blower, R. Edwin Gortner, who was in charge of overseeing landfill enforcement cases across Ohio, and his two staffers in Columbus met what Sahli described as ''very strong opposition and even hostility'' from the Twinsburg office and from senior managers in Columbus over how the agency was dealing with Countywide.
Three staffers were driven out of the EPA's solid waste program by what Gortner described as a ''deliberate program of harassment.''
In documents, Gortner said he found evidence of misconduct or incompetent action by the agency. Among his claims:
• Staffers in Twinsburg have unlawfully concealed evidence of groundwater contamination at the landfill.
• The EPA's 2005 decision to allow Countywide to recirculate leachate or landfill liquid, the step that caused the fires to start as the liquid came into contact with buried aluminum waste, was ''reckless and negligent.'' This could make the state liable for cleaning up Countywide at taxpayer expense.
• Twinsburg uses those who are not engineers to make engineering decisions and lets people who are not qualified make health decisions.
Gortner also said the EPA in Twinsburg and Columbus had undertaken ''an orchestrated campaign to avoid compliance with public records requirements.''
Staffers refrained from taking notes at meetings about Countywide because of the fear that the notes would be public records, and the Twinsburg staff routinely kept a separate Countywide ''desk file'' that contains documents not in the public files, Gortner said.
The agency also routinely stamped Countywide documents ''attorney client privileged'' to avoid public scrutiny.
Sahli said that when Gortner raised those issues with his supervisors, he and his staff were harassed and faced a hostile work environment.
Gortner says his computer was searched in violation of EPA policy while he was on vacation. His computers contained draft letters to the Ohio inspector general about the Twinsburg office and the Stark County Health Department about Countywide.
Gortner's supervisors threatened to take away his state-issued cell phone. He was told he ''should stop talking so much about Countywide to people.''
He was also accused of leaking Countywide documents to the public.
Gortner's job was upgraded in 2008 and he was forced to reapply. He was not selected and was moved to a top position in emergency response within the agency.
On Dec. 12, Gortner filed complaints with the Ohio Personnel Board of Review and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration that have jurisdiction over whistle-blower claims. On Feb. 26, the Ohio EPA resolved Gortner's complaint, and that bothers Sahli.
The quick resolution appears to have been done by the EPA to ''cover up Mr. Gortner's claims and avoid giving testimony under oath,'' Sahli said.
Sahli said he became aware of the Gortner paperwork about Countywide about a week ago.
Tuscarawas County Commissioner James Seldenright said Tuesday that he intended to review the material. ''It is very interesting. . .and more than a little troubling,'' he said.
Comments
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Canton, OH
Posted 06:26 AM, 04/01/2009
That Landfill is a mess. .Terrible odors emanate from it daily.. .I feel for the people who have to live around it. ..
