Fountain Public Works Director Placed on Leave

At the March 4 meeting, it was made known that the city of Fountain placed Public Works Director John Hanson on unpaid suspension February 20. In attendance at the meeting, in addition to the full council, were Hanson, City Attorney Frederick Suhler and Preston Police Chief Blaise Sass, at the request of the city, and Public Works employee Jordan Amunrud joining via telephone. The exact details of what transpired and how the decision was made to enact the suspension, and by whom, was not provided during or after the meeting.

At the start of the meeting, Hanson spoke to the council regarding investigation findings. He presented documentation for the council to be placed on the record. It included emails from Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Drinking Water Protection District Engineer Seth Ledet and a two-page overview of Fluoride Overfeed in Drinking Water, Drinking Water Protection Policy,  from the MDH.

“They said the 2.2 reading that I had was not an immediate public health issue at the time. For the way I acted on it, he said that was more than sufficient. He would recommend a couple of different things,” said Hanson. “I was mainly concerned what the investigation led to and would like to know exactly what I have done that is getting recommended for my termination.”

The two email documents from Ledet are dated February 25. They both note the city had a fluoride overfeed event and that after realization of it, the operator collected a field sample from the distribution system that resulted in a fluoride level of 2.2mg/L and the sample was entered into the monthly field log.

They state that in realizing that the fluoride level was elevated above the required range of 0.5mg/L-0.9mg/L. The first email indicates the operator immediately flushed the system to reduce the fluoride levels back to an acceptable range. The second notes he immediately corrected the issue, reducing the levels to an acceptable range within 24 hours and that the short-term increase resulted in no immediate health impact to the public. The first email adds that the maximum contaminant level for fluoride is 4.0mg/L (rolling annual average) and a non-enforceable standard of 2.0mg/L is in place to limit cosmetic effects.

There are two discrepancies in the emails, however, with the first noting that due to 2.0mg/L being the highest level detected via field sample and no lab samples at the time of the event, there will be no public notice of exceedance (NOE) required by the public water supply. However, the second email states that a Tier 3 NOE will be issued to the water supply consumers out of an abundance of caution.

The MDH document indicates the correct procedure to include: immediate turning off of the fluoridation system, leaving on-line monitors on, reporting the incident to the MDH district engineer, determine the cause of the malfunction and correct it, measure and record samples to identify extent of excessive level, and restart the fluoridation system, with MDH district permission, once levels are reduced to 0.9mg/L.

Councilor Tammy Danielson indicated a desire to review all documentation and conduct a conversation with Ledet before further discussing Hanson’s suspension. She added that information she received following the incident was different to what Hanson was presenting. According to her, after speaking with Ledet, she received specific guidance on what should have been done.

“It does not necessarily flow with what’s in the letters,” said Danielson.

“There was a lot of gray area there,” said Hanson.

“It doesn’t appear to be when you look at the department of health overview,” added Danielson. “The information I have, based on what I’ve been given by the department of health, I don’t think I can go forward tonight until I have clarification.”

“Above the 4.0 is considered the maximum contaminant level. 2.0 is a secondary standard. That is a non-enforceable standard,” reiterated Hanson.

“For us to try to argue and kind of point tonight is futile,” responded Danielson. “There’s no place for us to figure anything out without actually talking to Seth Ledet.”

The council unanimously tabled further discussion until confirmations can be made. The maximum length of suspension allowable is 30 days. A conversation will be held as soon as possible with the MDH and the findings will be brought back to a special council meeting to be held later this month. Until then, Hanson will remain on unpaid leave.

In other news, the council heard a report from wastewater contractor Rick Whitney regarding updates at the wastewater treatment plant. The council will consider a renewal to Whitney’s contract at a later date.