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Under Ohio’s public records law, citizens have the right to view upon request the public records of offices such as Ohio EPA. Ohio’s public records law should not be confused with the Federal Freedom of Information Act, which applies to records held by federal agencies. Ohio EPA does not have a central repository for all its records. Each division within Ohio EPA and each of the five district offices houses its own files.
Therefore, more than one office may need to be contacted to obtain all applicable files on a particular issue or site. The Procedures for Public Records Requests and File Reviews fact sheet explains Ohio EPA’s file review process in more detail.
For more information about Ohio’s public records law, you may review Ohio Revised Code 149.43 at http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/149.43.
The charge for copies is five cents per page. As a courtesy, Ohio EPA may waive the charges if fewer than 250 copies are made. Ohio EPA reserves the right to deny this courtesy if a requester asks for fewer than 250 pages of a single document that exceeds 250 pages or where a requester repeatedly requests copies under the 250-page limit in an effort to avoid copying charges. The charge for copying more than 250 pages is five cents a page, which includes pages 1 through 250. A two-sided copy counts as two pages.
Each district office has specific copying procedures. Click on the appropriate district below to see these procedures.
In order to better identify, locate and track the file(s) being requested, Ohio EPA suggests all requests for public records or file reviews be submitted in writing. When making a request, include as much of the information below as possible:
Once your request is received, it is routed to the appropriate program offices to secure files. Once the files are located, you will be contacted to set up a convenient time for you to review the files.
The best initial contact for your file review request is the district office where the facility or site is located. To locate the appropriate office, please see the map below. If you wish to review Agency files on a matter involving more than one division or district office, or are uncertain as to where the facility is located, please send your request to Rich Bouder, Ohio EPA’s public records manager, by e-mail at richard.bouder@epa.state.oh.us or phone at (614) 644-2782.
Ohio EPA - Central Office Attn: Rich Bouder P.O. Box 1049 Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049 (614) 644-2782 (614) 644-3184 FAX E-mail Rich Bouder Central Office Copy Procedures
Ohio EPA - Central District Office Attn: Lisa Oltman 50 W. Front Street, Suite 700 Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 728-0793 (614) 728-3898 FAX E-mail Lisa Oltman Central District Office Copy Procedures
Ohio EPA - Northeast District Office Attn: Nicole Patella 2110 E Aurora Road Twinsburg, Ohio 44087 (330) 963-1200 (330) 487-0769 FAX E-mail Nicole Patella Northeast District Office Copy Procedures
Ohio EPA - Southeast District Office Attn: Angie Hardesty 2195 Front Street Logan, Ohio 43138 (740) 385-8501 (740) 385-6490 FAX E-mail Angie Hardesty Southeast District Office Copy Procedures
Ohio EPA - Northwest District Office Attn: Cathy Sherer 347 North Dunbridge Road Bowling Green, Ohio 43402 (419) 373-3084 (419) 352-8468 FAX Northwest District Office Copy Procedures
Ohio EPA - Southwest District Office Attn: Penny Horstman 401 East Fifth Street Dayton, Ohio 45402-2911 (937) 285-6025 (937) 285-6249 FAX E-Mail Penny Horstman Southwest District Office Copy Procedures
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Contact the Director's Office Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, OH 43216-1049 Street Address: 50 West Town Street, Suite 700 Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (614) 644-2782 ~ Fax: (614) 644-3184 ~ E-mail Emergency Response Hotline (800) 282-9378