BALTIMORE -- A shakeup has begun at the Maryland agency running an Eastern Shore facility found with pollution.
WBAL-TV 11 News reporter John Sherman reported that an Ehrlich appointee is now out of a job after 11 News exposed the pollution on the Eastern Shore.
WBAL-TV has confirmed that Maryland Environmental Service Director John Sparkman is on the way out just days after he told 11 News that the town of Centreville had "issues, but not problems."
MES runs wastewater treatment systems for Centreville and dozens of other towns. Sherman said the exact circumstances of Sparkman's departure remain unclear.
When asked directly whether Sparkman had been fired, Gov. Bob Ehrlich told 11 News Wednesday: "No, but we'll have more to say about that in the coming weeks."
Sherman asked the governor whether the second in command at MES, Conway Gregory, had recently been fired as well. Ehrlich, careful not to say too much, did not necessarily say "no" either.
"We will have some information, some announcements about MES in the very near future," Ehrlich said.
Sherman reported Gregory will also have to leave his position.
Last week, 11 News accompanied U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-District 1, and local officials on their tour of the facility. They found cans that once contained a toxic insecticide known to cause breast cancer.
WBAL-TV confronted Sparkman two weeks ago in the MES parking lot for a response to the congressman's claims that MES had been operating the facilities with "gross negligence" and "incompetence."
The director suggested no evidence to support claims of pollution found at a Centreville facility.
"I haven't talked to Congressman Gilchrest. I'd be glad to talk to him about it, but I don't have information which suggested to me that that's the case," Sparkman told 11 News.
After last week's 11 News report, Sherman said he received an e-mail from Sparkman that essentially stated two things simultaneously.
First, Sparkman wrote:
"MES is operating the Centreville facility in an environmentally responsible manner and will continue to do so."
Then, just a few inches down the page, Sparkman wrote:
"For MES to responsibly operate the facility, (the Maryland Department of the Environment) must issue clear guidance for operations. They have not done so."
Sherman said that represents a contradiction similar to what Sparkman first told 11 News at the end of April: "There are issues, but I don't know that there are problems."
Queen Anne's County Commissioner Gene Ransom said MES has been engaged in a series of missteps.
"I think this further calls into question the state's ability to handle the situation in Centreville. It's deeply troubling," Ransom said.
"MES was brought in to help clean up the situation. We've had all these continual problems and then they decided to walk away. And now, they found out they're not allowed to under the law, so they're coming back. It's a very frustrating situation," Ransom added.
In an e-mail to MES employees, Sparkman said his short tenure has been a "rewarding experience."
Ransom said Queen Anne's County does not feel the same.
When asked whether his constituents can trust MES, Ransom said: "I don't feel comfortable with him right now."
Sparkman's last day in office is scheduled for June 30, which will leave the agency's top two positions open, although clearly the governor is lining up replacements, Sherman said.
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