[StBernard] Money sought for video of SDT dumping

[Westley Annis]

someone, maybe in EPA or LDEQ or Parish Government, should check to see IF
storage of human wastes is prohibited at that site

I would think only empty trucks would be allowed at the truck yard

SJK


-----Original Message-----
Money sought for video of SDT dumping
Fielkow seeks probe; city cleans up waste
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 
By Chris Kirkham
St. Bernard bureau
The same day local garbage executive Sidney Torres IV said one of his waste
trucks was stolen and used to dump waste into a Lower 9th Ward storm drain,
someone who taped a home video of the incident asked a local television news
station for money in exchange for the video. 

WDSU-TV News Director Jonathan Shelley said the station decided not to air
the dumping video after employees were asked to pay several different
amounts, as much as $2,500, to use the footage. The station instead
contacted Torres and used footage from his surveillance cameras. 

Torres has said the dumping was the act of a saboteur: His own security
cameras, he said, showed the truck was stolen from the company's Chalmette
yard Saturday night, when the yard was closed. Torres did not dispute that
the dumping occurred, saying that a satellite-monitoring system in the truck
showed that it stopped at the corner of Alabo and North Johnson streets,
where the video of the dumping was shot. 

Shelley said someone came to the WDSU newsroom Sunday morning with a
videotape of the incident. Employees viewed the tape, he said, then the
person left a contact number to call if the station was interested in airing
it. 

When a reporter called the number later in the day, the person answering the
phone asked for money. Shelley said the station did not pay for anything and
then contacted Torres, who provided the SDT surveillance tape that was later
shown on air. 

Torres said he learned of the dumping incident during a WDSU interview
Sunday morning involving a separate story. He then notified the St. Bernard
Parish Sheriff's Office of the alleged theft and is offering a $10,000
reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone
involved. 

"We have all the evidence to prove it was either an angry employee or it's
somebody who's trying to make money off the tape," Torres said. 

Also on Monday, New Orleans City Councilman Arnie Fielkow called for an
investigation into the weekend dumping. 

Fielkow wrote to City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis -- who represents
the Lower 9th Ward -- to "respectfully suggest" that she look into the
matter and, if necessary, schedule a special meeting of the council's
sanitation committee, which she chairs. SDT holds a city contract to provide
trash collection and sanitation services in the French Quarter and Downtown
Development District. 

Fielkow sent a copy of his letter to Marcia St. Martin, executive director
of the Sewerage & Water Board, and Police Superintendent Warren Riley, and
encouraged them to investigate, too. 

"At a minimum, it needs to be determined what are the facts underlying this
situation, how the event could have occurred, the environmental impact of
this dumping for the neighborhood and the impact of the alleged activities
on any contracts with the city of New Orleans," Fielkow wrote. 

Torres said he welcomes an investigation and wants to help authorities
discover who stole his truck. 

Based on SDT video surveillance that shows another car picking up the driver
after he dropped off the waste truck at SDT company headquarters, Torres
said he believes multiple people, possibly disgruntled former employees,
were involved in the setup. 

Torres has said no company employees were clocked in at the time of the
dumping. Jeff Dauzat, an environmental scientist with the state Department
of Environmental Quality, said investigators viewed the dumping site Monday.
City crews had a vacuum truck cleaning the drain, and Dauzat said SDT
pledged to send trucks to disinfect the street. 

The DEQ will only pursue fines for the actual dumping. Questions about who
was ultimately responsible would be left to a criminal investigation,
probably by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The weekend incident is not the first time Torres has claimed to be the
victim of dirty tricks. 

Late last year, when WWL-TV showed footage of an SDT truck illegally dumping
portable toilet waste into sewage systems in and near New Orleans City Park,
Torres hired a private investigator who declared the dumping was carried out
by a disgruntled employee trying to discredit the company. 

... . . . . . . 

Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3321.