Union sends safety complaint to state over Santa Fe wastewater plant
May 14—The local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sent a letter to the state Occupational Health and Safety Bureau on Thursday alleging a series of "dangerous and life-threatening" safety issues at the Santa Fe Wastewater Treatment Plant.
"We are presently genuinely concerned with multiple safety issues located at the Santa Fe Wastewater Treatment Plant," the letter reads. "These issues have been addressed by our Union repeatedly but appear to fall on deaf ears."
The union is asking the agency to intervene and demand the city correct "their operation practices, their safety practices, their maintenance program, and their apparent lack of concern for our members and thus the City's residents."
In addition to the letter, the union sent about 45 captioned images that allegedly show slipping hazards around a plant acid bath, sludge leaks, broken effluent channel grates, open wires, issues with ventilator covers and an unsanitary employee bathroom.
The letter also claims daily records at the Paseo Real treatment plant have been falsified.
City spokesman Dave Herndon wrote in an email the city takes workplace safety and the environment seriously, and if the state agency determines there are problems, they will be fixed "immediately."
Shannon Jones, the city's public utilities director, and Michael Dozier, wastewater management division director, could not be reached for comment.
Union President Gilbert Baca regularly fields complaints from union members who work at the plant, said Gil Martinez, the union's vice president. The concerns are then relayed to the supervisor on duty.
"No one pays attention to us," Martinez said. "We always mention the safety concerns, but nothing ever gets done. We address it, but nothing ever gets done."
Maxine Sandoval, the union's safety committee chairwoman, could not be reached for comment.
Martinez said he expected things to change after Tobin "Toby" Williams was severely shocked while replacing lights at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in 2019. Williams' death was also mentioned in the letter.
Williams was flown to a hospital in Denver for treatment but did not recover from his injuries. He was 27.
The city reached a settlement with the state after an investigation into Williams' death found violations, such as allowing untrained workers to replace electrical equipment.
The state initially fined the city $183,000, but it later dismissed some of the claims and ordered Santa Fe to pay $120,000 in citations, over half of which went toward training and safety improvements. The city must complete the improvements by September.
In February, the city agreed to pay Williams' family a $500,000 tort claim settlement.
The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau will evaluate the information in the letter and take appropriate steps to ensure worker safety, if warranted, said Maddy Hayden, spokeswoman for the state Environment Department.
Martinez said he hopes the state takes the union's allegations as seriously as the union does.
"In our eyes," Martinez said, "it's a bad place for our employees to be."
