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Lawmaker Wants 'Sense Of Urgency' For Contaminated Water Notifications

A northeast Ohio community continues to deal with a contaminated water crisis involving high-amounts of lead. Now a lawmaker wants to speed up the warning process for any future emergencies.

The Ohio EPA went months before warning residents of Sebring that their water was contaminated with lead. Democratic Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) of the Youngstown area wants to pass a law requiring officials to notify people about a contamination within 30 days of the discovery.

“This is a small, rural community in western Mahoning County and I just think there was no sense of urgency and that’s what I want to get down to,” said Boccieri.

Boccieri adds that the government also needs to deal with the larger issue of crumbling, aging water pipelines.

Contact Andy at achow@statehousenews.org.