FORMER POWER PLANT EMPLOYEE SUES OXNARD FIRM OVER FIRING.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer A former technician at an Oxnard power plant has filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired for telling officials that chemically treated wastewater was being used to wash vegetables at a neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. farm. In his civil suit against Sithe Energies of Oxnard, James Farrington James Farrington (October 1, 1791 - October 29, 1859) was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Conway, New Hampshire and attended the common schools there. He graduated from Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine in 1814. also claims the company did not obtain required permits before installing pipelines to divert di·vert v. di·vert·ed, di·vert·ing, di·verts v.tr. 1. To turn aside from a course or direction: Traffic was diverted around the scene of the accident. 2. wastewater from the 50-megawatt plant to a storm drain storm drain n. 1. A storm sewer. 2. A catch basin. and nearby farm. Farrington, a Ventura resident who worked as the plant's instrumentation and electrical coordinator, told management he planned to blow the whistle and was fired on March 14, 1997 - three days after calling regulators from a company office. ``He was fired for expressing his concerns to Sithe management and for communicating these concerns to governmental authorities,'' said Farrington's attorney, Jeff Zoria. Farrington is seeking lost wages and damages for emotional distress emotional distress n. an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. and diminished employability. Dave Hermenson, Sithe's general manager, declined to comment, saying he was unaware of the lawsuit. In May 1993, Sithe Energies built a pipeline to carry wastewater from a plant cooling system cooling system: see air conditioning; internal-combustion engine; refrigeration. cooling system Apparatus used to keep the temperature of a structure or device from exceeding limits imposed by needs of safety and efficiency. to Boskovich Farms' vegetable processing plant, cutting its disposal costs. But the pipeline, Farrington claims, was built without any of the necessary permits. Farrington ``became concerned that the practice of diverting water to Boskovich Farms' vegetable processing plant was unsafe, unhealthy and illegal practice,'' says the lawsuit, filed March 12. |
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