Denver, CO - A recent ruling that awarded whistleblower, Adrienne Anderson, $450,000 plus attorney fees, should not be appealed by the Denver Metro Reclamation District, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Anderson aired significant public health concerns resulting from radioactive elements such as plutonium that was funneled from the Lowry Superfund site, through the district's wastewater treatment plant.
In his detailed, eighty-page ruling, Judge Di Nardi, described the case as one about "a dedicated, conscientious and public-spirited citizen who, in following the tradition of Karen Silkwood [and] Erin Brockovich" yet in contrast describes Metro Wastewater's actions as those that "shock the conscience."
The District appears set to appeal the ruling, although they have already spent nearly a million dollars to pursue its action against Anderson.
"Significant taxpayer resources have been wasted defending Metro's illegal actions, and reason dictates that further expenditures to defend these prohibited activities are ludicrous," stated Chandra Rosenthal, Rocky Mountain PEER counsel.
Read the letter PEER sent to the District.
Read the official decision.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals, working to protect the environment.