Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Gardiner officials speak out on alleged whistleblower

City calls claims of safety issues at waste-water treatment plant baseless

By Mechele Cooper mcooper@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

GARDINER — City officials believe Fred Cyr, the former chief operator of the waste-water treatment plant, fabricated claims of safety issues at the facility.

Cyr filed a complaint Aug. 27 with the Maine Human Rights Commission saying he lost his is job for reporting alleged unsafe working conditions at the plant.

City Manager Scott Morelli said privacy laws and the city’s nondisclosure agreement with the Human Rights Commission limit what can be divulged about the case. Nevertheless, city officials broke their silence on the case this week, citing the importance of letting taxpayers know they will defend the city against what Morelli called Cyr’s “frivolous claim.”

“We believe information has either been exaggerated or simply fabricated by Mr. Cyr and his attorney in an attempt to get a taxpayer-funded payout,” Morelli said Wednesday. “We take allegations of unsafe working conditions very seriously and look forward to presenting evidence to the commission from numerous city employees that will debunk these trumped-up charges of retaliation and unsafe working conditions.”

Morelli said the city’s insurance carrier is bearing all legal costs, minus a $5,000 deductible. He said it is unfortunate Cyr chose to “try their human rights claim against the city in the newspaper.”

The Kennebec Journal reported Oct. 19 that Cyr was complaining to the Human Rights Commission that he was forced out as operator of the plant because he pointed out numerous incidents of vandalism, some of which led to discharges of raw sewage into the Kennebec River. At that time, city officials declined to comment.

Maria Fox, Cyr’s attorney, said she thinks it’s odd the city has chosen to comment now — drawing more attention to the matter while proclaiming it is inappropriate to try the case in the news media.

“We did not issue any press release in this case or initiate media contact,” Fox said.

Cyr’s complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission is of public record, Fox said. The complaint is based on Maine’s Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects employees who report concerns about health and safety in the workplace from being treated differently at work, or from having their jobs threatened or terminated, she said.

“We look forward to the uncovering of all the evidence in the normal course of the (Maine Human Rights Commission) and court processes,” she said. “Ultimately, it will be up to a jury to make a decision.” 

Safety issues surfaced at the plant in 2009, when vandals apparently began targeting the facility.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees waste-water treatment plants, is conducting an ongoing investigation.

Cyr alleges that after he complained about health and safety issues at the plant, Charles Applebee, director of the city’s Wastewater and Public Works Department, created a hostile work environment and took “adverse personnel actions” against him. 

Morelli said since Cyr left the position in March, vandalism at the waste-water treatment plant has stopped. He said city officials do not believe there is any immediate threat to the health or safety of plant employees or the general public. 

None of the other plant employees has complained about unsafe working conditions, he said.

The city has not been fined by any state or federal agency for  hazardous working conditions. 

“We are not happy that we have had to spend tax dollars and staff time defending the city from these baseless accusations,” Morelli said, “but we know that protecting the public purse and standing up to false allegations is the right thing to do.”