Ohio's chief surface-water regulator resigns at request of coal-supported governor, citing permits

George Elmaraghy

Ohio's top waterways watchdog announced his resignation Monday, saying Republican Gov. John Kasich asked him to step down over disputes with the coal industry, Spencer Hunt reports for The Columbus Dispatch. George Elmaraghy, chief of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s division of surface water, and the administrator who oversees the state’s efforts to protect streams, lakes and wetlands from pollution, said he will resign in September.

In an email sent to his staff, Elmaraghy wrote that the coal industry wants “permits that may have a negative impact on Ohio’s streams and wetlands and violate state and federal laws Now, due to this situation, the governor’s office and the director have asked me to resign my position.” Elmaraghy, who did not return calls seeking comment, has been with the agency for 39 years. A spokesperson for the governor's office told Hunt they don't discuss personnel matters.

"Since Kasich began his gubernatorial campaign in 2009, Ohio coal interests have poured nearly $1 million into campaign coffers of statewide and legislative candidates, with more than $870,000 coming from the families that run own Boich Companies and Murray Energy." Hunt reports. "The Kasich campaign received about $130,000."

There has long been clash between the state's EPA and coal industry "over permits that businesses must obtain before they can remove streams and wetlands or fill them in," Hunt writes. "These permits attempt to minimize environmental damage and outline the work needed to repair or replace waterways. In 2008, state lawmakers advanced an industry-backed bill that would have transferred the Ohio EPA’s authority to oversee such permits for coal companies to mining regulators at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It did not pass.That same year, the EPA denied a permit request from Murray Energy to dam a small Belmont County stream and use it as a storage lagoon for coal slurry," calling it a pollution threat to a nearby creek that was home to the endangered eastern hellbender salamander. (Read more)