Investigators Probe Possible Drug Use at Treatment Plants

The Sanitation Districts of Orange County has ordered an investigation into suspected drug use by employees working at the agency’s sewage treatment plants in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.

A private security firm hired by the agency began interviewing dozens of employees this week, and officials said they expect the investigation to be completed sometime next week.

The agency commissioned the investigation after receiving several phone calls from residents who reported suspicious late-night activities, noise and traffic at the plants, which process 240 million gallons of sewage a day and dump the treated waste water into the Pacific Ocean.

“We are here to serve the public. So, when the public calls to report possible illegal activity, we need to investigate,” said Michelle Tuchman, director of public affairs for the agency. “It’s our objective to have a safe and secure workplace. If there is something going on, we want to stop it immediately.”

Tuchman and other officials stressed that the activities under investigation have in no way jeopardized plant safety or caused environmental problems.

“We have no evidence at all that there has been any deviation from standard operations,” said John J. Collins, joint chairman of the sanitation districts. “We want to ensure that nothing places our operation in jeopardy, so we’ve taken this action.”

Treated waste water is tested before leaving the plants to make sure it meets environmental regulations and water-quality standards. An elaborate monitoring system prevents raw sewage from being pumped into the ocean at the pipeline’s terminus five miles off the coast and 200 feet beneath the surface, officials said.

“The quality has not been compromised,” Tuchman added. “There are checks and balances throughout the plants that guarantee the quality of the waste water treatment.”

Officials declined to disclose details about the investigation’s findings until it is completed, nor would they say how many employees are under suspicion. Tuchman said “only a small fraction” of the agency’s 600 employees are involved in the probe.

Besides the calls from residents, management at the sanitation districts had also heard rumors that drug use and perhaps other forms of “employee malfeasance” might be occurring at the plants, she said.

The private security firm, Confidential Management Services Inc., was hired several weeks ago to investigate the charges. Local police departments have also been informed of the probe, though officials emphasized that no disciplinary action has yet been taken against any employee.

In recent months, the agency has highlighted the drug and alcohol abuse programs available to employees, Collins said. During the summer, the agency held an “amnesty program” that allowed employees with dependency problems to seek help without being penalized.

“We are no different from other businesses out there that might have a problem like this,” Collins added. “We didn’t expect to find a problem. But [the security firm] has uncovered problems that demand our attention. So we are addressing them.”

An employee at the Fountain Valley plant, who asked not to be identified, said workers were shocked when investigators began conducting interviews earlier this week. Some employees fear the investigation might have involved undercover video surveillance of the plant, he said.

“It’s been amazingly quiet, so people are wondering what’s going on,” the employee said. “People are being called into the office. Then, when the interview is done, they are walked out to their cars. I think that might be to prevent people from comparing their stories.”