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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Friday, January 11, 2013

Ohio State EPA hits clean water hero with $70k fine

By Jon Cassidy  /   January 7, 2013 

Personal Note: A man EPA should be lauding in his efforts to preserve Ohio’s waterways is going to be fined $70,000 by Ohio EPA - which should clearly be viewed as 'abuse by opportunity' - and Attorney General Mike DeWine is filing suit against him.  RK

County officials have big plans to build sewerage system throughout the jurisdiction over a 20-year period, but until then, most county residents handle their waste the way they always have – with septic systems.  Only around 10 percent of those septic systems meet the standards of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, according to a 2007 estimate by the local health board.  The big reason is cost. New compliant systems can cost up to $25,000, equal to the value of many properties in the region, which is far from wealthy…..“I believe that what they did when I happened to acquire the property is they saw me as somebody with the means to correct it, and they came after me,” Thompson said. “When I used the word selective enforcement, the attorney for the EPA said, ‘Gee I wish you wouldn’t use that term.’ And I said, ‘How else am I supposed to view this?’ All of Kinsman is out of compliance and you come and knock at my door.”

An editorial in the local Tribune-Chronicle summed up its view: “The OEPA should visit Kinsman to award Thompson a commendation for helping to improve the environment. Instead, the over-reaching and overzealous agency is trying to punish him.”  To Read More….. 

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