Town Attorney John Willardson said in a statement, “Upon hearing those allegations, the town promptly contacted the North Carolina Department of Environmental Resources to request an independent investigation into the practices and procedures of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.”

That was the right thing to do. We hope the DEQ investigation will get to the bottom of things quickly.

Willardson contends Church didn’t speak up about illegal dumping and false water samples until after he was fired in August. But Church says he spoke to several officials, including a town councilman and Mayor Mike Inscore, before he was first demoted, then fired.

Church says he began talking to the plant’s utilities director about problems in 2011, soon after he was promoted to plant operator in charge. He says that he called for necessary improvements because of the plant’s inadequate capacity to handle the increased amount of wastewater, according to the lawsuit.

If this is true, Church was either a conscientious public servant, a nuisance or both.