A former employee of the Merced Irrigation District is suing the agency in Merced County Superior Court for allegedly retaliating against him after he reported to the state that the district was knowingly polluting the area's groundwater with chemicals.
Ramiro Ceja, who resigned from the district in February 2010, filed a civil lawsuit July 20 against MID. It claimed that he was retaliated against after reporting to the California Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) that MID was knowingly polluting groundwater through the district's underground electrical distribution lines.
MID's legal counsel, Ken Robbins, said the district couldn't comment on the matter since it was personnel-related.
MID's general manager, John Sweigard, couldn't be reached for comment.
The case revolves around underground electrical lines whose junction boxes are encased in cement vaults, known as subsurface utility vaults, or SUVs.
Since SUVs are below grade, when it rains the boxes can fill with water. Periodically, the vaults must be drained. Since there are petroleum hydrocarbons and chemical contaminants that may have gotten into the water from the electrical hardware, the vaults must have the water removed in a specific way.
According to the suit, instead of removing the water in the vaults according to strict guidelines, MID punched holes in the bottom of the vaults, which may have allowed contaminated water to drain into the surrounding groundwater.
In 2006, Ceja first observed such practices and notified MID management. They did nothing, the suit alleged.
After years of attempts to stop the practice, in July 2009 Ceja filed a complaint with CEPA.
What followed, alleged the suit, was a campaign of retaliation.
In October 2009, Ceja was demoted from a supervisor position to one several steps below without cause, the suit said. Subsequently, he was harassed and finally he resigned, according to his lawsuit.
Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209) 385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.
E-Mail
Print
