Ohio EPA Announces New Senior Staff Appointments to Focus on Lake Erie

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Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler is building a team of staff to focus solely on improving Lake Erie’s water quality.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 26, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Karl Gebhardt, currently Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water (DSW) chief and deputy director for water resources, will focus his efforts solely on being the deputy director for water resources to complete two main tasks. One is to implement the binational agreement Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor recently signed with Michigan and Ontario to reduce nutrient levels going into Lake Erie by 40 percent. The other is coming up with a strategic plan on managing our dredge material to comply with the state’s recent commitment to not dispose of dredge material in Lake Erie.

Pam Allen, currently the Division of Materials and Waste Management (DMWM) chief, will join Gebhardt in the Director’s Office and work full-time to implement these goals. In addition, the Lake Erie Commission and its staff will report to Gebhardt to work together to manage our assets on the Lake.
Current DSW Assistant Chief Tiffani Kavalec will become the new DSW Chief. To fill Allen’s previous position, Terrie TerMeer, currently an assistant chief in the Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance, will become the DMWM Chief.

Gebhardt joined Ohio EPA in April 2014 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), where he served as deputy director and as the agency’s point person for water quality and water resource issues. Prior to his role as a deputy, Gebhardt was Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Resources, where he provided leadership for the expansion of on-the–ground conservation practices, and developing legislation that would help in the efficient and effective delivery of conservation programs for nutrient management. His career has spanned over forty years in natural resource management, public policy development and community relations in both the private and public sectors. His experience also includes 12 years as the owner of Teater-Gebhardt & Associates, a natural resources consulting and policy firm.

Allen has been the Chief of DMWM (formerly the Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management) since June 2007. Prior to that, she worked in the Division of Hazardous Waste Management for 20 years, serving in several different management positions for 18 of those years. Pam has been an active member of many Agency-wide teams and recognizes the importance of teamwork and collaboration in accomplishing the Agency’s goals.

Kavalec has been an assistant chief in the Division of Surface Water since Aug. 2014. She moved to DSW after a long career in Division of Emergency and Remedial Response, where she most recently served as assistant chief. Kavalec has been with Ohio EPA since 1995, where she started her career in DSW.

TerMeer has been an assistant chief in the Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention (OCAPP) since March 2015. Terrie joined the former ODNR Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention in 2003, having focused primarily on the internal operations of the division. In 2005 when the division’s funding source shifted, TerMeer developed and implemented a major reorganization that dramatically reduced staff and oversaw the transformation of the division’s grant program. The former division is now part of Ohio EPA, formally joining the agency in 2012. Prior to her days in recycling, TerMeer served as the Chief of the Ohio Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program that provided employment and training opportunities to young adults in the field of conservation and natural resources. Terrie served for nearly two years as the Deputy Director of Special Events for the Secretary of State. Prior to that, she served nearly six years as the Special Assistant to former Columbus Mayor Gregory S. Lashutka.

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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Heidi Griesmer

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