A waste-to-energy plant operator on Long Island wants to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that claims it dumped toxic ash across parts of Suffolk County.
A former employee of the company, Covanta, filed the suit in 2013. David Kovel, an attorney for the whistleblower, told Newsday the company’s own documents demonstrate it engaged in fraudulent testing and dumped a multimillion dollar dangerous mess of ash in Brookhaven.
Covanta denies the claims, but is negotiating with the towns of Hempstead, Brookhaven, Garden City and LIPA to settle the suit.
The lawsuit claims potential damages by the plant total $175 million. The Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating.
