State Officials Testing Fill Pile Wednesday In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — State law enforcement and environmental officials were seen Wednesday at the Fairfield fill pile, the site at the center of a town-wide contamination crisis involving the arrest of two government employees and the discovery of contaminants at several public sites.

First Selectman Mike Tetreau, a Democrat, said he received an email from the state's attorney notifying him that the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection wanted to test the pile at the request of law enforcement.

Selectman Chris Tymniak, a Republican, was at the site Wednesday after receiving a call notifying him of activity at the pile, where he said he spoke with Senior Assistant State's Attorney Tamberlyn Conopask, who is prosecuting the case against the two Fairfield employees facing charges.

"I know that there's an ongoing investigation," Tymniak said. "... Obviously they're still looking at it."

When asked about the presence of law enforcement Wednesday at the site, Division of Criminal Justice spokesman Mark Dupuis said the agency does not comment on matters that may or may not be under investigation. Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Communications Director Kristina Rozek directed specific questions about Wednesday's testing to the state's attorney's office.

Charged in the case are former public works director Joe Michelangelo, former public works superintendent Scott Bartlett and Jason Julian, whose company was hired by the town to manage the pile. The trio was arrested in August, and Michelangelo and Bartlett have since been fired from their Fairfield jobs.

All three men have pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. The charges against them include larceny, forgery and dumping. Bartlett and Julian will appear in court Nov. 20 and Michelangelo has a court appearance scheduled for Dec. 3.

Fairfield hired Julian Development in 2013 to operate the fill pile and reduce the amount of unused project material by 40,000 cubic yards. But over the next three years, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the agreement was set to end, PCBs and lead were discovered on the property.

After conservation officials said the transportation and dumping of contaminated material could have violated state or federal law, police opened an investigation in 2017, which resulted in the arrests.

Around the same time that Bartlett, Julian and Michelangelo were charged, asbestos at a local park was reported to police, and not long after that, the town released a list of 20 priority contamination testing sites that received fill from the pile when it was operated by Julian.

At least 60 areas in Fairfield have been tested for contamination amid concerns about misuse of fill, and the vast majority have been deemed safe. Sites that tested positive for contamination were found to contain asbestos, arsenic and other contaminants. Tests are possible or pending for more than 40 additional locations.

Fairfield has sued Julian for millions in damages and Julian has sued the town for defamation.