Los Altos’ sewer saga continues. The city came close to being prosecuted by the district attorney’s office in recent months for covering up sewage spills into a local creek, and this week may face legal action from a dismissed sewer worker.
John Fioretta, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney, had been investigating allegations from a former Los Altos sewer worker that thousands of gallons of sewage had overflowed into Adobe Creek at least four times within the last several years. Fioretta’s investigation included charges that the city committed water quality code violations, and that officials may have failed to report sanitary sewer overflows.
Fioretta closed his investigation Nov. 22 after determining that the one-year statute of limitations for prosecuting the city had run out because the most recent spill occurred in October 2004, just over a year ago.
Asked if any other cities in the county were being investigated for similar water pollution violations, Fioretta said, “No, we haven’t had a complaint like this in a long time, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
The DA’s investigation is among a series of developments, capped by the recent adoption of the city’s sewer master plan that point to problems with the aging system and the city’s need to address them.
Fioretta told the Town Crier that part of the reason he dropped the investigation was because it was his understanding that the Adobe Creek spills and code violations had been brought to the attention of the public and the city council during hearings held this fall concerning the city’s new sewer master plan.
“The bottom line seemed to be that there were some problems out there with the sanitary sewers, and it is being addressed by the current activity of the city,” Fioretta said.
He added, “If it happens again, they’re going to have some explaining to do.”
Although there was discussion of the need for upgrades to the city’s aging pump and lift stations, city officials didn’t mention sewage overflows at the O’Keefe station next to Adobe Creek, from which the spills allegedly originated.
Mayor Ron Packard was not aware of ongoing investigations, but said he recalled that on the subject of overflows, “something was raised (at the hearings). … It had something to do with capital improvements or the sewer master plan.”
Packard said another spill occurred over the summer next to Adobe when two pumps failed at the station on Pine Lane, but that he believed the city had prevented the 100 gallons of sewage from reaching the creek by piling up sandbags. The city did report that spill.
Los Altos City Manager Phil Rose last week did not return calls seeking comment.
While Fioretta was looking into water pollution charges, William Larsen, special assistant district attorney, was conducting an investigation into the city’s appropriation of sewer money. That investigation has since been closed, coinciding with Larsen’s reported retirement last month.
Karyn Sinunu, chief assistant district attorney, confirmed that “there are currently no investigations” of the city being conducted from her office.
“The fact that they’ve dropped it means that there’s no substance to it,” said Packard, an attorney whose firm is based in Los Altos. Packard has researched allegations made by sewer watchdogs Gerry Madea and Tom Burns, who brought the issues to the attention of district attorney staffers, but said that each time the claims have proved empty. Burns is suing the city after a 2003 sewer overflow of 36,000 gallons destroyed much of his Frontero Avenue home.
In the meantime, the city may face fire on another legal front. Keith Amdur, the sewer worker who supplied testimony for Fioretta’s investigation, might launch a lawsuit against the city as early as this week on grounds of wrongful termination. The city fired Amdur last September.
As the Town Crier was going to press Monday, his union, Sanitary Truckers and Helpers Local 350, was scheduled to have its final negotiation with the city concerning the reinstatement of Amdur’s job. Mike Morrissey, Amdur’s attorney, said he is prepared to file suit against the city this week.
Amdur claims he was fired because the city learned he was providing information about its sewer system to the district attorney’s office. He had kept a journal about daily sewer activities in the city for more than a year. Amdur told the Town Crier that at least two of the four Adobe Creek spills occurred overnight and involved 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of sewage. He said the alarm that is supposed to sound when the O’Keefe station is close to overflowing never went off because it had been disconnected.
Morrissey said when the city fired Amdur, it claimed he wasn’t up to the job and that his resume from five years ago was false because he had failed to list the city of Mountain View as a former employer.
“That just tells you the city wanted to get rid of him. … Who goes back and looks at a five-year-old resume and (fires someone) on the basis of omitting a city that would have given him a great recommendation?” Morrissey asked.
Packard said whistle-blowing by a city employee is “an improper basis for a termination. My understanding is it had to do with normal work issues. In my mind, it had to do with qualifications and work performance.”
On top of wrongful termination, Amdur alleges that he witnessed overtime abuses on the part of sewer supervisors and workers.
Morrissey added the city also wrongfully terminated Amdur’s medical benefits.
“He has a child with Down syndrome,” Morrissey said. “He’s really in a hole right now.”
Senator Barbara Boxer’s husband, Stewart Boxer, has taken up Amdur’s cause and may represent him in a worker’s compensation claim against the city, Morrissey said.
