DeKalb employee fired over sewer spills, 4/15/16
A DeKalb County official says he was
wrongly fired for failing to report sewer spills as
required by state and federal authorities.
Charles Lambert, the assistant director
for operations in the DeKalb Department of Watershed Management, didn’t comply
with requirements to disclose a recent spill at a Decatur residence, according
to his termination letter, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through
an open records request Friday.
But Lambert said government field teams
didn’t see a spill first-hand, and he believes he was dismissed because top
Department of Watershed Management officials saw a video showing sewage that overflowed from a
backyard manhole cover.
The county is conducting an
investigation to determine the extent of its sewer overflow reporting issues. Reports of sewer
overflows must be made to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
according to the county.
“It is important to note that public health was protected and DWM (Department of
Watershed Management) staff completed the required response and cleanup
activities as specified by state and federal laws,” the county said in a
statement.
Lambert, who was the county’s interim
watershed director until a permanent department head was hired last year, said
the county responded to and reported on two spills at the residence.
“We report what we see. If we don’t
witness it, we can’t report it,” Lambert said. “It seems like they’re out to
get me.”
Sewer overflows are defined as
discharges that include spills into waterways, indoor backups and outdoor
releases.
Several years ago, DeKalb County entered
into an agreement with the federal government to upgrade its wastewater
systems, part of $1.35 billion in infrastructure improvements. The agreement
included stringent sewage overflow reporting requirements.
Department of Watershed Management
Director Scott Towler wrote in Lambert’s termination letter that he showed
“substandard work quality” that put the county out of compliance with the
agreement.
DeKalb could face penalties for failure
to comply with reporting requirements, Towler wrote. Lambert is appealing his
termination. Source: AJC
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