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A city employee has been fired for failing to report a massive sewage leak to the Ministry of the Environment and then lying to cover his tracks.
The unidentified employee was suspended Tuesday after he was confronted and admitted his actions. He was fired yesterday morning.
When the leak into the Ottawa River was exposed last week, city officials insisted that staff informed the ministry immediately after the spill was detected in August 2006, which is required by law. The employee said he did that.
However, it turns out the ministry wasn’t informed until May 2007, according to city manager Kent Kirkpatrick, whose investigation exposed the lie.
This was not the only major breakdown of communication relating to the sewage leak. Senior city bureaucrats and elected officials weren’t told of the spill until last week and the public health department wasn’t notified of the risk at the time, either.
The incident saw 960,000 cubic metres of raw sewage and storm water – enough to fill 350 Olympic-sized pools – dumped directly into the Ottawa River.
The spill is being blamed for high E.coli readings at Petrie Island beach in August 2006; city staff say it is likely responsible for about one-third of the 45 days the beach was closed to swimmers that summer.
This week, the provincial Ministry of the Environment also started an investigation into the incident.
City councillors were informed of the firing yesterday morning in a memo from Richard Hewitt, the deputy city manager responsible for public works. He said the city’s investigation into how the incident was handled is continuing and council will be kept informed of anything “important” uncovered.
Also yesterday, council ordered the city’s auditor general, Alain Lalonde, to investigate. This investigation will run parallel to the one being run by Mr. Kirkpatrick.
Mayor Larry O’Brien said earlier in the week that he wanted an outside expert to conduct an investigation. This could still happen, but not until after the auditor general’s findings are in.
Mr. O’Brien said after getting advice from the city’s legal department, he feels Mr. Lalonde will be able to do a good investigation because he has the power to subpoena employees, former employees and members of the public to give evidence.