In their petition, the environmental groups criticized the Ohio EPA for everything from the way it handles public complaints to technical issues, such as issuing wrong permits. They consider the polluters their clients, not the public. Yet we're the ones who suffer if they pollute the waters. Other petition signers were Ohio Citizen Action, the Ohio Public Interest Research Group and the Ohio branch of the Sierra Club. Heidi Griesmer, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA, said that the complaint has no merit but that the agency will cooperate with the investigation.
Any organization can benefit from a review of operations.
But we don't think anything will come from this. The U.S. EPA has delegated authority for federal air, water and hazardous-waste programs to the Ohio EPA for years, Frey said. The petition seeks to have the federal government withdraw that responsibility. But such a move is unlikely, Frey said. The agency's original mandate to enforce environmental laws has switched, she said.