[StBernard] Torres Agrees To Answer Council Questions

[Westley Annis]

Torres Agrees To Answer Council Questions
SDT Owner Will Appear Before Sanitation Committee
POSTED: 12:20 pm CDT March 17, 2009
UPDATED: 12:56 pm CDT March 17, 2009


NEW ORLEANS -- SDT Waste and Debris owner Sidney Torres has agreed to attend
a City Council sanitation meeting Wednesday and answer questions surrounding
several cases of improper dumping.

Torres told WDSU he will appear as requested by committee chair Cynthia
Willard-Lewis.

Willard-Lewis and council vice president Arnie Fielkow said Monday they want
answers to questions stemming from three incidents in which SDT has been
linked to illegal waste disposal.

The most recent event happened over the weekend when an SDT truck was
videotaped pumping waste into a Lower Ninth Ward storm drain.

Torres claimed the truck was taken from his company's Chalmette yard without
authorization. He provided security camera video and GPS data to back that
claim.

The truck was returned late Saturday night but was left in front of SDT
headquarters with the lights on and keys still in the ignition. Torres
believes someone is trying to make the company look bad.

Workers with the Department of Environmental Quality are testing samples of
the sludge to determine what hazards the mess may cause.

Willard-Lewis said she wants to know what is behind the recurring problem.

"This is the third occurrence and it can no longer be tolerated by any
company," she said.