TALLADEGA — Federal subpoenas to appear before a grand jury have been served on Water Board and Sewer Board employees in connection with an investigation into the city's water operation.The federal grand jury will convene in Birmingham March 30-31 and is expected to hear testimony about a probe by the Environmental Protection Agency and the FBI into possible wrongdoing at the board.
According to records in U.S. District Court, the Talladega Water and Sewer Board is being targeted for falsifying documents and mail fraud.
Talladega attorney Charlie Gaines, general counsel to the board, said Tuesday water board employees will comply with the subpoenas to appear before the federal grand jury.
Gaines said he has personally seen only two grand jury subpoenas involving employees.
He said the subpoenas only had the time and date of the grand jury, no other details.
In September, federal authorities searched the Talladega Water and Sewer Board's water treatment plant, where many of its records are housed.
According to a special agent with EPA, there was "probable cause to believe that records falsified by employees and management officials of the city of Talladega water treatment system" would be found at the treatment plant.
A search warrant obtained by that agent, Jeff Crane, alleged that records would "show widespread falsification of documents has taken place related to several facets of the operation of the water treatment system."
At the time of the search, investigators seized a number of items, including reports, correspondence, payroll time sheets and a computer hard drive.
The two-page list of seized items included a clipboard from the contaminated Grant Street well showing its flow meter readings.
The Grant Street well has been the focus of public attention for almost a year and is the subject of a class action lawsuit over contamination problems.
The well was closed in 1995 because high levels of tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE, were found in its water. Well records show high levels of PCE, above federal guidelines, since 1989.
According to the EPA, long-term exposure to PCE, above contaminant levels set by that agency, could cause liver problems and increase the risk of cancer.
Despite the long history of PCE contamination, and the board's failure to remedy the contamination problem, the Grant Street well was pressed back into service off and on until May 2003.
The list of items seized by federal authorities also included information about the proposed packed-tower aerator for the Grant Street well, which would treat the well water and render it safe for public consumption.
Even though plans were first hatched to construct the aerator in 1995, construction of the aerator has yet to begin.
The board has, however, awarded a $258,000 contract to construct such a device, which will be paid for with existing capital improvement funds.
Contaminated well targeted
In June 2003, Alabama Department of Environmental Management officially notified the board that it could not operate the well until it received written approval by that agency. The well has not been used since May 2003.
A class action lawsuit was filed by water customers in July 2003 against ADEM, the Talladega Water and Sewer Board, the city of Talladega and "other entities whose wrongful conduct caused or contributed to cause the injuries and damages to plaintiffs" because of the contamination in the well that supplied water to customers on and off for the past 14 years.
Scott Hughes, public affairs officer with ADEM, would neither confirm nor deny whether ADEM employees were subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury.
"In the event we were called upon, we would certainly participate and provide any documents that were requested from the department," Hughes said.
Bill Goheen, who was recently appointed as the water board manager, declined comment on the probe and whether or not he had been subpoenaed personally.
"This is part of an ongoing criminal investigation, and I would be uncomfortable addressing who has been summoned and who has not been," Goheen said Tuesday evening.
When asked if he himself had been summoned, Goheen said he had been "advised not to comment on that by legal counsel."
"This probe is looking at what went on in the past," Goheen said. "What is still an issue today is looking to the future, moving forward in a positive direction, and being a good steward of the water system. The investigation and the board today are very different."
Former Water and Sewer Board member Wayne Miller said he did not receive a federal grand jury subpoena, nor did he believe that any other board member received one.
"Not me, I haven't got one," said Cathy Fuller, the board's secretary. "I haven't heard about the board members (getting subpoenas). I really can't say. All I know, it's (the federal grand jury) supposed to start up on March 30.”
Former board secretary Cookie Adair said she was unaware of any federal grand jury involving the water board.
Board member Lawrence McGraw said he did not personally receive a subpoena but had heard that federal grand jury subpoenas "were going out."
Board member Dan Waites, who was appointed to the board in October, said Tuesday that he was not aware of any specific details of the federal grand jury investigation.
Board chairman Wayne Kearley and board member David McGhee were not available for immediate comment.
George Montgomery, who retired as board manager at the end of 2003, was not available for immediate comment.
Board attorneys Charlana Spencer and John Bolton of Montgomery, who are representing the board in the criminal matter and the class action lawsuit filed by water board customers, were not available for immediate comment Tuesday.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert Posey was not available for immediate comment but has said he could not make any comments about the pending federal criminal investigation.
