Office of Legal Services

Legal Services

Our office provides general counsel to Ohio EPA’s divisions and districts and evaluates, prepares and negotiates administrative enforcement actions.

Agency attorneys prepare trade secret claim determinations; prepare and review contracts; assist in the development or review of legislation and rules; and address public records request issues.

Weekly Review and Public Notices

Each week, the Ohio EPA Weekly Review provides a county-by-county listing of public notices in alphabetical order by county. Most of Ohio EPA's public notices are contained in this listing.

LOOKING FOR AN INTERNSHIP?

There are currently two open positions for college interns in our Office of Legal Services. Applicants must currently be enrolled in an American Bar Association accredited law school. Apply by 5 p.m., June 25.

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) requires and authorizes Ohio EPA to adopt administrative rules. Rules are adopted pursuant to Chapter 119 and section 111.15 of the ORC, which become part of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). The Agency may also adopt internal management rules. Read more

Ordinarily, "actions" of the Director of Environmental Protection (which include the adoption, amendment or rescission of rules, the issuance, modification or rescission of most orders, and the issuance, denial, modification or revocation of permits and licenses) are issued as "final actions" appealable to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC). However, in some instances Ohio EPA is required, or chooses, to provide the person subject to an action an opportunity for a prior hearing. These instances will most often involve the denial of an application for a permit or license. In these cases, the Director will issue a "proposed action" that may be adjudicated before Ohio EPA's Hearing Officer.

An adjudication hearing on a proposed action of the Director may be requested by the person subject to the proposed action, or by any person who would be aggrieved or adversely affected by issuance of the permit in question, by the filing of a hearing request or objection within 30 days of issuance of the proposed action. The hearing request or objection is filed with Ohio EPA's Hearing Clerk in the Legal Records Section. The Hearing Clerk dockets the request and refers it to the Hearing Officer.

The first step in an adjudication proceeding is the scheduling of a prehearing conference by the Hearing Officer. The first prehearing conference will be scheduled to be held approximately four to six weeks after receipt of the hearing request, and will be attended by all parties to the case or their counsel (Ohio EPA will be represented by an Assistant Attorney General from the Environmental Enforcement Section). The purpose of the prehearing conference is to focus the issues in dispute, explore the possibility of settlement of the controversy, and discuss preliminary schedules for discovery and hearing if settlement of the case appears unlikely.

Most adjudication cases before Ohio EPA, as with most cases in any tribunal, settle without going to formal litigation. As long as all parties agree that settlement negotiations are being actively and productively pursued, the Hearing Officer will encourage efforts to resolve cases informally. If a case cannot be resolved informally, or cannot be resolved within a reasonable period of time, the case will proceed to a formal adjudication hearing.

Following the adjudication hearing and post-hearing briefing, the Hearing Officer submits a Report and Recommendation to the Director. The parties have an opportunity to file objections to the Report and Recommendation, and then the Director issues final Findings and Orders. This final action is then appealable to ERAC.
Final actions of the Director of Environmental Protection are appealable to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC) pursuant to Section 3745.04 of the Ohio Revised Code. The ERAC is an independent commission whose three members are appointed by the Governor. The following is a brief summary of the appeals process. For more detailed information, please contact ERAC directly at (614) 466-8950.

Generally, final actions may be appealed to ERAC by a person who was a party to a proceeding before the Director by filing an appeal within 30 days of notice of the final action. However, a final action issuing, denying, modifying, revoking, or renewing a permit, license, or variance, which is not preceded by a proposed action, may be appealed by persons who are aggrieved or adversely affected by filing an appeal within 30 days of issuance of the action.

Appeals to ERAC must be in writing, and must set forth the action complained of and the grounds upon which the appeal is based. Appeals must be filed with:

Environmental Review Appeals Commission
77 South High Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 466-8950

The appeal must be accompanied by a $70 filing fee. ERAC, in its discretion, may reduce the filing fee if by affidavit it is demonstrated that payment of the full amount of the fee would cause extreme hardship.

Notice of the fiilng of the appeal shall be filed with the director of Ohio EPA within three (3) days of filing with the Commission. Ohio EPA requests that a copy of the appeal be served upon the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Environmental Enforcement Section. The filing of an appeal does not automatically suspend or stay the action appealed.

If, after hearing the appeal, ERAC determines that the action appealed was lawful and reasonable, ERAC will affirm the Director's action. If ERAC determines that the action was either unlawful or unreasonable, the action will be vacated or modified.

Orders of ERAC are appealable by adversely affected  parties to the Franklin County Court of Appeals, or if the appeal arises from an alleged violation of a law or rule, to the Court of Appeals for the district in which the violation is alleged to have occurred.
Ohio's audit privilege and immunity law is designed to enhance protection of human health and the environment by encouraging regulated entities to voluntarily discover, promptly disclose and expeditiously correct violations of environmental laws. Under the law, the owner or operator of a facility may perform a voluntary self-evaluation (audit) designed to improve compliance or identify, correct, or prevent noncompliance with environmental laws. In return for performing a proper audit, the owner or operator can qualify for immunity from the gravity portion of any civil penalty for the violations disclosed. Read More

Each week, the Ohio EPA Weekly Review provides a county-by-county listing of public notices in alphabetical order by county. Most of Ohio EPA’s public notices are contained in this listing. Certain Ohio EPA public notices are too lengthy to be included in the county-by-county listing, or apply to more than one county. An example would be public notices of proposed rule-making. These multi-county or other public notices are posted by week.

Material/Activity Regulated

Division/Program

Administrative Code

Revised Code

Federal Enabling/
Related Statute

Air Pollution

DAPC

3745-71 to 80; 3745-14 to 26; 3745-31; 3745-35; 3745-101 to 103

3704

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Cessation of Regulated Operations

DMWM

3745-352

3752

N/A

Clean Ohio Fund

Clean Ohio Fund Program (DERR)

N/A

122.65 - .659

N/A

Community Right-to-Know, Emergency Planning, and Release Reporting Requirements

DAPC--State Emergency Response Commission (SERC)

3750-1 to 60

3750

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know (EPCRTK)

Construction Demolition & Debris

DMWM

3745-400

3714

N/A

Drinking Water

DDAGW

3745-81 to 99; 3745-7

6109

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Hazardous Waste

DMWM

3745-50 to 69; 3745-218; 3745-248; 3745-270

3734

Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA); Subtitle C

Injection of Wastes into Wells

Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program (DDAGW)

3745-34

6111.043 - .049

SDWA

Ohio EPA (Enabling Statute)

All Divisions/Programs (Including Verified Complaint Process, Environmental Education Fund, and Environmental Audits)

N/A

3745

N/A

Oil and Gas

Separate entity; Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

1501

1509

SDWA

Private Sewer Systems

DSW

N/A

6112

N/A

Remedial Actions at Unregulated Sites

DERR

N/A

3734, 3745.12, and 6111

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA)

Solid & Infectious Wastes

DMWM

3745-27, 28, 29, 30; 3745-37

3734

RCRA Subtitle D (only for municipal solid waste landfills)

Spills of Hazardous Substances, Oil, etc.

Emergency Response Section (DERR)

N/A

3734, 3745.12, and 6111

CERCLA

Toxic Release Inventory

DAPC

3745-100

3751

EPCRTK

Underground Storage Tanks

Separate entity: Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulation (BUSTR)

1301

3737

RCRA

Universal Wastes

DMWM

3745-273

3734

RCRA

Used Oil

DMWM

3745-279

3734

RCRA

Voluntary Clean-up

Voluntary Action Program (VAP)(DERR)

3745-300

3746

N/A

Water Pollution

DSW

3745-1 to 3; 3745-7; 3745-11; 3745-32 to 33; 3745-36; 3745-38; 3745-40; 3745-42

6111, 6117 & 6119

Clean Water Act (CWA)

DAPC--Division of Air Pollution Control

DDAGW--Division of Drinking and Ground Waters

DMWM--Division of Materials and Waste Management

 DSW--Division of Surface Water

DERR--Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization
A legal internship with Ohio EPA offers students an opportunity to learn more about a growing area of law and work closely with individuals responsible for enforcing the law. The work is exciting, interesting, and professionally challenging. Additionally, work with Ohio EPA will provide important experience for any future legal positions in the environmental field. The goal of the program is to involve participating law students in Ohio EPA's multimedia programs.

Legal interns work approximately 10 hours per week (up to 40 hours per week during summer programs) in Columbus, Ohio, and have the opportunity to draft enforcement documents and memoranda on environmental issues. Preference will be given to second- and third-year law students with environmental law, environmental policy, and/or environmental science experience. These are paid positions.

Students participating in the program will have the opportunity to develop skills, learn substantive areas of law and witness first-hand how a large and active government agency operates. Students are assigned projects ranging from legal research to the actual development and preparation of enforcement cases. Students also have the opportunity to witness negotiation sessions; attend public meetings (where Agency personnel brief and answer questions from the regulated community and concerned citizens about proposed actions of the Director); attend proceedings before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission and Ohio EPA hearing examiners; and attend hearings before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Students may also have the opportunity to visit regulated facilities and sites where clean ups are being performed.

Law students may intern during either the summer or the academic year. Staff Attorneys volunteer to serve as mentors and help students choose projects, provide constructive feedback on work performed, and coordinate with the student's law school to ensure that requirements for any available academic credit are met. Throughout the internship, the mentor and student will meet to discuss the student's work and any questions or issues that may arise.

Students who are interested in the legal intern program can view any current postings for a legal intern position through the Ohio Hiring Management System. NOTE: postings will be listed as a “College Internship” for the Office of Legal Services. If you have questions or would like more information regarding this program, please contact Ohio EPA’s Legal Office at (614) 644-3037 and ask to speak to an intern coordinator. 

Name

Area(s) of Practice

Bar Admission and Additional Experience

Anderson, Todd A.

Hazardous Waste

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1991. Education: University of Dayton, J.D., cum laude, 1991; University of Maryland, B.A., 1986.

Bennett, Colin W.

Emergency and Remedial Response; Voluntary Action Program

Bar Admissions: Ohio, 2009; Florida, 2008, Education: Florida State University, J.D., 2008; Ohio University, B.A., 2005. Additional Experience: Criminal Law, Civil Litigation.

Bergman, Drew

Air Pollution

Grinnell College, Philosophy and General Science, emphasis on Chemistry. University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs with a Master's in Public Affairs; Law Degree from University of Minnesota Law School. (Additional Experience: Deputy Director for Legal Affairs for Ohio EPA and assistant attorney general for Ohio Attorney General's Office.

Cooper, Martha Jane

Emergency and Remedial Response; Voluntary Action Program; Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1983. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., 1983; Denison University, B.A., 1979. Professional Licenses: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 1984. Additional Experience: Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, Hearing Examiner; Hancock County Solid Waste District, Special Counsel; Assistant Ohio Attorney General, Taxation and Public Utilities Sections.

Feldmann, Stephen R.

Air Pollution

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1987. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., 1987; The Ohio State University, B.A., 1977. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste.

Fischbein, Ann M.

Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris; Emergency and Remedial Response; Voluntary Action Program

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1995. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D., 1995; Miami University, B.A., 1992. Additional Experience: Surface Water; Air Pollution; Hazardous Waste; Federal Facilities; State Emergency Response Commission.

Fischbein, Bill

Drinking Water; Water Pollution Control

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1994. Education: BA, Summa Cum Laude, Ohio State University, 1990; JD The Ohio State University College of Law, 1994. Additional Experience: Solid waste/Cⅅ Emergency/remedial response.

Glasgow, Marcus J.

Air Pollution

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1998. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., 1998; Ohio Wesleyan University, B.A., 1993. Professional Licenses: Southern District of Ohio; Registered Sanitarian. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste; Criminal Law.

Horvitz, Martha E.

Water Pollution

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1974. Education: George Washington University, National Law Center, J.D., with honors, 1974; Brandeis University, A.B., cum laude, 1971. Professional Licenses: Supreme Court of Ohio; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Additional Experience: Air Pollution; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Drinking Water; Superfund; Contribution Actions; Litigation.

Hurdley, Jeffrey H.

Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1989. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D., 1989; The Ohio State University, B.A., cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, 1986. Professional Licenses: Supreme Court of Ohio; U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Additional Experience: Emergency and Remedial Response; Surface Water; Hazardous Waste.

Kovac, Frances M.

Hazardous Waste

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1985. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D., 1985; Ohio University, B.S., cum laude, 1977. Additional Experience: Emergency and Remedial Response.

Kroeger, Sue

Voluntary Action Program; Emergency and Remedial Response; Contracts

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1992. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., 1992; Bowling Green State University, B.S., 1985. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste and Water Pollution.

Maney, Janine M.

Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition and Debris; Drinking Water

Bar Admissions: Ohio, 2005; U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio, 2006. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Curia, Order of the Barristers, Associate Notes Editor, Capital University Law Review; Franciscan University of Steubenville, M.A. 1988; Clemson University, B.A. 1985. Additional Experience: Judicial Law Clerk, Civil Litigation.

Miller, Elissa B.

Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris

Bar Admission: Ohio, 2000. Education: University of Cincinnati, J.D., 2000; The Ohio State University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1997.

Navarre, Mark J.

Emergency and Remedial Response; Voluntary Action Program

Bar Admission: Michigan, 1982; Ohio, 1980.Education: University of Washington, LL.M., 1986; University of Toledo, J.D., 1980; University of Notre Dame, B.B.A., 1976. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris; criminal law; civil litigation; legal education.

Nichols, Robin M.

Solid Waste; Infectious Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris

Bar Admission: Ohio, 2002. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Curia, 2002, member, Capital University Law Review; The Ohio State University, B.A., 1999. Additional Experience: Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

Rhoads, Kimberly A.

Drinking Water

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1993. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D., 1993; Youngstown State University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1990.

Shapiro, Michael A.

Water Pollution; Hazardous Waste

Bar Admission: Ohio. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D.; The Ohio State University, B.A. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste Facility Board; Hearing Examiner.

Simcic, Jr., Peter M.

Administrative; Water Pollution

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1996. Education: Capital University Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1996; The Ohio State University, B.A., 1993. Additional Experience: Hazardous Waste.

Smoktonowicz, Andrea

Emergency and Remedial Response; Voluntary Action Program

Bar Admission: Ohio, 2004. Education: LL.M. in Environmental Law, magna cum laude, Vermont Law School, 2005; J.D., with distinction, Ohio Northern University School of Law, 2004; B.A., summa cum laude, The Ohio State University, 2001. Additional Experience: Water Pollution; Solid Waste; Construction and Demolition Debris; Drinking Water.

Vanterpool, Donald L.

Air Pollution

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1987. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D.; Andrews University, Ed.D. Candidate; Andrews University, M.A.; C.W. Post College, Long Island University, B.A. Professional Licenses: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; Federal District Court, Northern and Southern Ohio Districts. Additional Experience: Emergency and Remedial Response.

Wilson, W. Samuel

Hearing Examiner

Bar Admission: Ohio, 1982. Education: The Ohio State University, J.D., 1982; The Ohio State University, B.S., cum laude, 1978.
     

 

Office Support/Legal Records

Clements, Zona L.

Central Office Public Records Requests, Hearing Clerk

Davidson, Miles J.

Administrative Assistant

Nichol , Kelly A.

Legal Secretary

Lassiter, Tonya R.

Journal Room (Director’s Journal), Records Management Officer

Peeples, Denise L.

Administrative Assistant