On Thursday November 19th, the CT Post reported that the Town of Fairfield’s current Conservation Director, Brian Carey, it’s former HR Director, Emmet Hibson and Osprey Environmental’s Robert Grabarek were all arrested in connection with the illegal disposal of contaminated soil. In addition, Scott Bartlett – Fairfield’s former Public Works Superintendent – and Joe Michelangelo – Fairfield’s former Public Works Director were both arrested for a second time. The warrant applications can be downloaded here:
Brian Carey Warrant Application: Owen Fish
Brian Carey Warrant Application: Fill Pile
Robert Grabarek Warrant Application
Emmet Hibson Warrant Application
Scott Bartlett Warrant Application: Fill Pile
Scott Bartlett Warrant Application: Owen Fish
The warrants paint a sordid tale of a pattern of corruption that extends beyond the Fill Pile. The public is finally introduced to the dredging at Owen Fish Pond that took place in the spring/summer of 2018. Here we have a tale of a group of town employees conspiring to “cut” and resell contaminated dredging materials to residential contractors. The Owen Fish materials had exceedances of lead, benzo(a)pyrene, ETPH (petroleum) & PNAs. When their Licensed Environmental Professional advises that this could create significant liability for the Town, they hatch a plan to dump ~1,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment at the Fill Pile. These materials were buried in the berm and allowed to overflow into Long Island Sound all under the watchful eye of our Conservation, HR & Public Works Directors and their LEP, Osprey Environmental.
As we detailed last December – on August 26th, 2019, Brian Carey sat before the Board of Finance and next to First Selectman Tetreau who proclaimed:
“I just want it clear that that material was tested – almost half the pile then – coupled with our testing from September to December at that point. So, all those tests came back saying we had the appropriate type of material in the Berm and in the Pile.” – Mike Tetreau
Mr. Carey said nothing to dispute that claim despite having full knowledge that PCBs, and the contaminated soil from Owen Fish pond, were buried in the Berm. Mr. Carey also neglected to inform the Board of Finance that he received an email from CT DEEP’s PCB Unit in December of 2017 that indicated that the Town was not to initiate using the Fill Pile materials to build a berm without CT DEEP reviewing the plans:
“Please be aware that any other findings of PCBs or any contaminants at the yard would need to be reported to CTDEEP and remediated. The remaining pile would need to be characterized prior to disposal. If used for any other purpose, such as building a berm around the base, the CTDEEP must be involved in reviewing the plans. Also, the CTDEEP Long Island Sound Program would need to be part of the process.” – Janet Kwiakowski of DEEP’s PCB Unit
What’s even more heartbreaking, is that these warrants paint the picture that individuals who were entrusted with safety of our Town’s employees violated that trust. Statements from the warrants include:
“All of the DPW employees recalled meetings between the workers and various combinations of Town officials, including, Scott Bartlett, Joseph Michelangelo, Brian Carey and Emmet Hibson leading up to the actual construction of the berm and continuing through the process. In a meeting on April 9, 2018, workers were told about the general parameters of the upcoming berm construction job including the short timeframe to complete it. This would include 10 hour days and that overtime pay would be available. Employees stated that they were told the job was “voluntary” but there were statements made, by town officials, some specifically by Emmet Hibson, that if there weren’t enough volunteers, employees could be forced to work on the berm or face discipline. Employees were told that doing this job with DPW employees would save the town money.”
“In a meeting held on April 16, 2018, Grabarek presented a Health and Safety Plan for the Berm
Construction Project. During this meeting, there were several employees who asked questions
concerning the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hazmat suits, respirators, etc., because of their concerns of potential exposure to contaminants from The Site operations. Most of the workers were aware of the previous 2017 removal action of the approximately 3,000 tons of polluted material that had been recently removed from The Site. As each of those concerns were raised, the employees were told by Town officials that testing would be done and they would be alerted to any problems. Employees were told specifically by Grabarek that personal protective equipment was available but not necessary and that it would just cause concern with the citizens. Grabarek also told employees that he himself would be working at the site without personal protective equipment. Employees were told specifically by Brian Carey that the levels of PCB’s and lead at the site were the same as if you ate a fish out of Long Island Sound. This created assurance with the employees that they had minimal risk of any exposure to the PCBs. The employees recall specific instructions from Robert Grabarek, and several town officials, including. Emmet Hibson, Joseph Michelangelo, Scott Bartlett, and Brian Carey.”
While this process has taken a considerable amount of time, we are encouraged to see that those who have conspired to the detriment of our community are finally being brought to justice.