Former Sebring Water Operator Facing Charges

[image-1]As the public water crisis unfolded horribly in Flint, Mich., the city of Sebring, Ohio, nursed its own problems with lead in the water supply earlier this year. For the small town 60 miles southeast of Cleveland, the problems were exacerbated by poor communication on the part of the local government.

For that and more, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that James Bates, former operator of the public water system in Sebring, will be charged with two counts of "recklessly failing to timely notice of individual lead tap water results to affected customers" within 30 days of receiving those results and one count of "recklessly failing to provide timely system-wide public education within 60 days of the end of the lead and copper monitoring period."

Bates had been suspended from his position in January.