· Resolution
City says landfill superintendent no longer employed; mayor and councilmember hold news conference
City Manager Grayson Path said in a written statement that, after reviewing the April TCEQ investigation, the landfill superintendent was no longer employed by the City, and that he would work with TCEQ to cover exposed trash. Mayor Cole Stanley and Councilmember Don Tipps held a news conference; Stanley proposed an internal audit with a compliance component and a policy requiring faster City response to TCEQ findings, and criticized the timing of TCEQ's notice.[1][2][3]
Grayson PathCole StanleyDon Tipps
- Environment & regulation
- Landfill & solid waste
- Leadership & governance
- Audits & oversight
- Public safety
What the sources say
- ✓ Verified
City Manager Grayson Path said that, after reviewing the April TCEQ compliance investigation, the landfill superintendent was no longer employed by the City; Mayor Cole Stanley could not say whether the superintendent was fired or resigned. KVII later reported the superintendent was fired.[1][4][3]
- ✓ Verified
Grayson Path, City Manager: Path said in his statement: "This development does not end my inquiry into this matter."[1]
- ✓ Verified
Don Tipps, Councilmember: Councilmember Don Tipps said: "There will be no spin. It will be the truth and the facts that tell this story."[1]
- ✓ Verified
Cole Stanley, Mayor: Mayor Cole Stanley said there was never a stand-down order for firefighters, proposed an internal audit with a compliance component and a policy requiring faster City response to TCEQ findings, and said of the timing of TCEQ's notice: "In my opinion, and my opinion only, that's a pretty poor system."[1][2]
- ✓ Verified
City Manager Grayson Path: The Amarillo Tribune reported that City Manager Grayson Path said in a video posted Thursday night, May 21, that the City received notice of the complaint on Wednesday and that he learned of it Thursday, and quoted him: "Prior to the fire on Sunday and prior to this notice of violation being issued, I was not aware that there might be a compliance concern of this kind at the landfill."[3]
- ✓ Verified
City Manager Grayson Path: Path said he had started a review of landfill operations: "We will be looking closely at what happened when it happened, who knew what and when, and the circumstances behind this violation."[3]
- ✓ Verified
Mayor Cole Stanley: At the May 22 news conference Mayor Cole Stanley said he learned of the notice of violation Thursday morning and would recommend a policy change, saying: "He didn't know about it, we didn't know about it until it was too late, and so that's a big problem." The Tribune reported Stanley said the council was not aware of the broken-down equipment and would also recommend a compliance component in the internal audit department.[3]
- ✓ Verified
Councilmember Don Tipps: Councilmember Don Tipps said: "The timing of it just looks really poor, but we don't know that that violation contributed to this fire," adding, "We don't know if this was a contributing factor."[3]
- ✓ Verified
The Tribune reported the news conference was held at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, lasted about an hour and 45 minutes, and took questions from media and members of the public, and that Path's statement that the landfill superintendent was no longer working for the City came about an hour before it.[3]