Texas A & M University
Civil Engineering Case 2: Weston Water Treatment Case
Level
Abstract
This paper explores a case study on Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant. It follows a series of management problems that affected the plant performance and raised ethical issues. It emerged that the plant’s officials were violating environmental laws by tampering with samples and discharging sludge directly into Weston River. This discharge could affect the lives of communities downstream whose lives depend on Weston River. This paper analyzes the stakeholders’ responses to the ethical issues raised in light of utilitarianism and consequentalist ethical theories. It finds out that Sam Stanton (Plant’s Maintenance Supervisor) and George Freed (Testing and Quality Control Supervisor) were culpable for gross violation of acceptable ethical practices and were subjected to 15 months imprisonment.
Key words: Weston Wastewater Plant, ethics, utilitarianism, consequentalist theory, sludge.
INTRODUCTION
The Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant is a 1991 case study that occurred following a meeting between the Mayor of Weston, Steve Palin, and the operations supervisor at the plant, Richard Madison. The meeting sought to dissolves various tensions that had emerged among managers at the plant. Other senior managers at the plant including John Carson (Director of Publics Works), George Freed (Testing and Quality Control Supervisor), Sam Stanton (Maintenance Supervisor) and Barry Best (Plant Superintendent) attended the meeting. Carson’s appointment was due to his close association with Mayor Palin while Madison, Stanton and Freed have been employed in the city for some time. They have been supporters of the mayor. Best was an employee of Environservices, Inc. This company had been mandated to oversee management of the plant under contract terms with the city. This contract followed a series of mismanagement problems that had rocked the plant and which resulted into fines by the United States environmental watchdog, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND THE ETHICAL ISSUE
The meeting resulted into various accusations. Richard Madison observed that there had been serious violations of environmental laws. He blamed these violations on Best, Freed and Stanton. The accusations hinged on the fact that the three tampered with samples. These samples were required to undergo mandatory tests to determine compliance with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Compliance with BOD standards ensure that the effluent that gets into Weston River does not present danger to the lives of communities that live downstream. This is because the River Weston provides a source of water to communities that live along its banks. Any mistake in the discharge of effluent can potentially harm their lives. The law requires that the officials send the results of the tests every month to environmental official based at the state or federal level. In this regard, interfering with the samples before taking them to the state and federal environmental agencies was tantamount to violation of environmental laws and raised serious ethical concerns.
While appointing accusations at Freed, Stanton and Best, Madison argued that the three officials at the plant discharged sewage sludge directly into Weston River. They achieved this goal by using pressure hoses. On the same note, the three altered records to cover up the unlawful discharges of sludge into the river. This action was tantamount to a violation of the first fundamental canon under the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). This canon requires engineers to “hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public” [] According to Madison, no actions were taken despite informing the Director of Public Works. Mayor Palin appointed a committee to investigate the allegations. The plant workers made several allegations that Madison abused them of subjected them to unfair treatment. On the other hand, Madison claimed that Best, Stanton and Freed had threatened him. The election of Thomas Golden as the new Mayor led to a series of transformations. The findings of the committee revealed serious irregularities at Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant. The allegations by Madison that Best, Stanton and Freed used pressures hoses to discharge sludge into the river were confirmed as true. It also found out that the three tampered with the samples in a bid to alter the real value of B.O.D.
The confession of a worker that Best diluted a sample is an indication that the Madison’s allegations were valid. According to workers, the three men had particular interest during the discharge of the sludge into the river since they were around the tank at the time the workers discharged the sludge into the river. In this regard, Best, Stanton and Freed violated environmental laws and constituted serious ethical issue. Their indictment revealed that the three had unlawfully discharged 14 tons of sludge into Weston River. It also followed that the three had made false reports about the sample tests. The new Mayor, Golden acted unethically when he defended the dismissal of Madison on the grounds of gross incompetence. His reasons were that Madison failed to nip the problems in the bud. By denying that the indictments of Best, Freed and Stanton were due to submissions of Madison in the earlier meeting with the former Mayor, Golden acted unlawfully. This action is confirmed by the jury’s decision to compensate Madison for his whistle-blowing role.
THE STAKEHOLDERS
It is indubitable that the various stakeholders in this case were affected in a number of ways. Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant involves a number of stakeholders. The first group of people stakeholders is the managers responsible for ensuring safe discharge of effluent into the River. Others include the environmental protection agency (EPA), the state and federal government and the communities whose lives depend on the waters of River Weston.
Managers at the plant
The responsibility of ensuring best ethical practices at the wastewater treatment plant rests with the manager at the plant. These managers can determine if the water effluent joining the river would affect the lives of the communities downstream. In this regard, it is possible that unethical practices that these three senior officers at the plant permitted could harm the lives of communities downstream. The three indicted managers violated ethical codes by failing to follow the law. If the law required that the samples to tested without alteration, it was upon the managers to observe the regulations. Although Richard Madison, the plant’s operations manager, blew the whistle, the blowing of the whistle was done when a lot of damage had been caused. Madison ought to have acted fast upon getting intelligence about his colleagues unethical tendencies. John Carson, the Director of Public Works, delayed to act on the unethical behavior of the three officials. If Carson took early steps to prevent his colleagues from interfering with the sample, there would no case altogether. This delay was a violation of the ethical codes of conduct that requires employees to report any cases of unethical behavior. Palin acted ethically when he constituted a committee to investigate the claims. It would have been prejudicial for him to proceed with charges against the accused officials without any basis. The findings of the committee were not fare from the truth. The committee vindicated Madison and provided fodder upon which Golden acted following Palin’s electoral loss.
Communities downstream
The primary stakeholders in this case are the people whose lives depended on River Weston. The communities living downstream utilize the waters of River Weston for domestic purposes. In the case study, it is reported that these communities use the water for various purposes. This implies that their health is dependent on how the treatment mechanism that are used at the wastewater treatment plant. Any unsafe practices at the Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant may jeopardize the lives of people downstream. For example, the unlawful discharged of sludge into the river is an indication of a violation of ethical practices. The accused officers (Best, Stanton and Freed) failed to have the interest of humanity at heart when they were found to have allowed 14 tons get into the river without due process. In this regard, the three chose to act out of their individualistic desires at the expense of the greater call to serve humanity. Tampering with the samples in a bid to compromise the quality of BOD was away of advancing malicious aims. If there was no tampering with the samples, the effluent entering the river would have meet the acceptable regulatory standards. This would not interfere with the lives of communities downstream.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The environmental protection agency is a key stakeholder on matters regarding environment. The centrality of a safe environment to human health cannot be gainsaid. EPA’s decision to constitute criminal proceedings against Best, Stanton and Freed was in solidarity with the people whose lives were threatened by the unethical practices. If EPA did not act, there would be a serious gap regarding implementation of environmental laws. EPA was in order. A serious violation had been committed. There was a need for redress. The lives of communities downstream were at risk. Therefore, the decision of EPA to indict the three officials was in line of EPA’s commitment to environmental sustainability. In this regard, EPA acted ethically to protect many lives downstream.
The judicial system
The judicial system played an instrumental role by serving as the last resort to the dispute that had emerged. The courts ruled two key cases. The decision by Madison to seek redress from the courts following his dismissal by Mayor Golden resulted into his award of $163, 800. This occurred after the courts established that the individual played a key role through whistle-blowing. The court’s acquittal of Best and the subsequent conviction of Freed and Stanton to 15 month sentence were in order. These individuals had committed a crime that violated the ethical norms. If someone had not been convicted for a crime in order to discourage the perpetuation of a similar crime, people would be encouraged to violate laws and take advantage of the existing gaps in perpetrating more crimes. In this regard, the courts acted ethically to discourage a rogue practice.
ETHICAL THEORIES AND CODES
One would wonder if it was right or moral for Best, Freed and Stanton to cat the way they did. One would wonder if their actions had any instincts for humanity. As senior managers at the Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant, it is expected that the managers are well educated and are privy to the ethical issues that surround their jobs. If this is the case, one would wonder whose interests the three managers were serving by consciously violating the acceptable ethical codes of conduct. Did they serve their interests or that of the organization or that of their superiors? Various ethical theories have been advanced to try and explain people’s behavior. In light of the behavioral practices case study, the following theories are advanced:
Utilitarianism as an ethical theory
This theory proposes that an act is ethically correct if it yields pleasure to the greatest number of people. There must be deliberate elimination of pain and its subsequent replacement with pleasure for this theory to work. This pleasure must be focused on satisfying the greatest number of people. A particular example of utilitarianism theory is when a police officer arrests a criminal that has been causing pain to the members of a community. The failure to arrest a criminal implies that the community would be subjected to pain due to criminal’s activities. In utilitarian terms, the criminal acts unethically by subjecting innocent people to suffering. On the other hand, the police man that arrests the criminal reduces the pain that the society would, otherwise, experience. This reduction of pain implies entrenchment of pleasure (safety). In utilitarian terms, a police officer that arrests a criminal acts ethically.
Applying the concept of utilitarianism to the case study reveals serious unethical practices on the part of Best, Stanton and Freed. The three officer’s decision to compromise the results of the samples means that they were compromising the lives of many people (communities downstream). Utilitarianism demands that an ethical act should bring pleasure and reduce gain to the greatest possible number of people. This is what the three officials failed to achieve. Hence, their actions are said to unethical. On the other hand, the decision by Madison to report the behavior of the three in the mayoral meeting aimed at redressing the problem. If the three officials stopped their unethical practices, the effluent getting into Weston River would not affect the lives of people downstream. In utilitarian terms, the action of Madison was ethical.
Madison claimed that John Carson failed to act despite reporting the case. This implies that John Carson might have colluded with the Best, Freed and Stanton to perpetuate the problem through blatant violation of ethics. If this was the case, then Carson acted in against the principle of utilitarianism. Steve Palin acted ethically by constituting a committee to investigate the charges. The decision by the Golden to suspend Madison and Best in order to restore confidence in the judiciary was ethical under the principle of utilitarianism. Restoration of confidence was meant to yield pleasure to the many people whose lives depended on the activities taking place at the plant.
Consequentalist theory
The basis of consequentalist theory is the consequence of an action. This theory advances that action is not ethical or unethical unless its consequence is ethical or unethical. In this regard, consequentalists believe that human actions should be judged from their consequences. For example, it is unethical to starve people but ethical to feed starving people. If a person robs a bank to feed starving people, such an action is regarded as ethical. This is because the end goal (consequence) is ethical. Another example of consequentalist theory is the police shooting of a criminal. The desired outcome of the shooting is safety. Thus, entrenching safety is ethical even though the act of killing is unethical. This theory draws various applications in regard to the case study on Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant. The actions of Best, Stanton and Freed cannot be regarded as ethical because the consequences had not been established to unethical. If the court system could determine if the actions were unethical, the consequences would have been death of people downstream or the reports of poor health among the people who depend on the waters of Weston River. If the three officials violated ethics and environmental laws to reduce the cost of sample testing, their actions were ethical. This is because the outcome (cost reduction) is a positive.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
In light of the foregoing, various alternative actions would help address the challenges discussed. Prior to the meeting with Steve Palin, Richard Madison should have called for a prior meeting involving Carson, Freed, Best and Stanton. This meeting would have ironed out various issues and accusations that arose following the conduct of the three officials at the plant. As the operations manager, Madison would have found a better way to deal with the issue through intense consultation with Carson. This matter could not have drawn the attention of the Mayor. The meeting with the mayor should have been a last resort in case all other avenues collapsed. The consequence of this action is that the top officers at the plant could not have “washed their dirty linen in public” since the matter would have solved amicably. It could have spared them the agony of facing the courts and redeem their image as public officer that can be trusted with leadership.
Best had little evidence against him compared to his colleagues with whom he was accused. He also had a different employer, Environservices, Inc. It is likely that the firm was interested in the matter to redeem its image based on the kind of employees it recruits. In this regard, the firm might have tasked top attorneys defend Best, leaving the other officials to face conviction. With this in mind, Best, Freed and Stanton should not have threatened Madison. They should have worked together to solve the problems that emerged.
The BOD sample
The BOD sample is calculated as,
BOD = (D1 – D2)/P where,
D1 = DO sample after preparation
D2 = DO sample after incubation
P = decimal fraction of effluent contained in a sample
The data reveals that tampering of samples started in November 1989. At that time, there was a significant increase in values. This was an indication of a reduction of P term in the BOD. The reduction of P term is due to increased dilution. In this regard, the continued dilution reduced P while it increased BOD. Before November, the values of BOD had reduced tremendously. This reduction explains the reason why Freed and Stanton decided to raise the levels of BOD to conform to EPA guidelines. The reduction of BOD levels could have been the result of poor maintenance. This would have complicated matters for the plant maintenance supervisor, Sam Stanton. In this regard, his decision to increase BOD level through dilution was meant to fulfill personal ambitions.
JUSTIFICATION OF AN ACTION
An action by the court to convict Freed and Stanton to 15 months in prison was justified. This is because the two officials had been accused of committing a crime. The courts found out that the accusations against the Freed and Stanton were admissible. In this regard, a decision to convict of the two officials of charges was away of discouraging an unhealthy practice. A practice can be discouraged through punishment. Their punishment served as a warning to their successors of the consequences of purveying unethical practices with the potential of endangering the lives of people.
CONCLUSION
This paper explored a case study on Weston Wastewater Treatment Plant. It analyzed the ethical issues that were occasioned due to problems in management. The paper reveals that George Freed (Testing and Quality Control Supervisor), Sam Stanton (Plant Maintenance Supervisor) and Barry Best (Plant Superintendent and employee of Environservices, Inc) were accused of purveying unhealthy practices such tampering with samples and discharging sludge into Weston River. However, the courts acquitted Best of the charges but subjected Freed and Stanton to 15 months of imprisonment. The paper reveals that the actions of the various stakeholders in this case were guided by ethical principles. Madison’s role as a whistle-blower was a manifestation of utilitarianism while the actions of Freed and Stanton had certain elements of consequentalist ethical theory.
REFERENCES
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[2] D. Moroz. "Consequentalism." Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer New York,
2014. 1-3.
[3] J.S. Mill. Utilitarianism. Broadview Press, 2010.
[4] M. Hayry. Liberal utilitarianism and applied ethics. Routledge, 2013.
[5] National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.” 2015. Retrieved from http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
