Fairfield’s $23 million “fill pile” scandal: A decade later, taxpayers are still paying

For more than a decade, Fairfield taxpayers have been paying for what has become one of the town’s most expensive and consequential environmental scandals: the illegal dumping of contaminated soil and debris at the town’s public works yard on Richard White Way.

The town has now spent approximately $23 million investigating, testing, and attempting to clean up the site, according to recent reporting. So far, Fairfield has recovered only about $2.1 million through settlements and restitution, leaving taxpayers responsible for the vast majority of the cost.

The pile sits next to Fairfield’s transfer station and covers roughly four acres, containing an estimated 109,000 cubic yards of soil and debris. The site had been used by the town for disposal of fill and related material since the 1970s, but the current scandal stems from decisions made over the last decade.

At the center of the scandal is a pattern of illegal dumping, cover-ups, and fraudulent contracting by town employees, contractors, and private developers.

Authorities say contaminated material—including PCBs, asbestos, lead, and other hazardous waste—was illegally dumped or reused at the site and elsewhere in town. In some cases, material that should have been removed and properly disposed of was instead moved around Fairfield and used in berms, parks, and playgrounds.

The scandal traces back at least to 2013, when local developer Jason Julian was hired to manage the fill pile for the town. Prosecutors said Julian later dumped truckloads of contaminated materials at parks and playgrounds throughout Fairfield. He was sentenced in 2024 to 18 months in prison.

In 2018, the town hired a Clinton-based environmental cleanup company owned by Robert Grabarek to construct a berm around the contaminated pile. Prosecutors said Grabarek directed town workers to use contaminated material—including soil containing PCBs—to build the berm rather than properly dispose of it. He received a three-year suspended sentence followed by probation.

Several former Fairfield officials were criminally charged or convicted.

Former Superintendent of Public Works Scott Bartlett was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to environmental and larceny-related charges. Former Director of Public Works Joseph Michelangelo was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to allowing contaminated soil to be dumped at the yard. Former town financial officer Robert Mayer received a suspended sentence for participating in the cover-up. Former town officials Brian Carey and Emmet Hibson were granted accelerated rehabilitation.

Who is legally liable remains complicated.

Individuals and contractors have faced criminal penalties and restitution orders. But because the dumping occurred on town property and involved town employees acting in official capacities, Fairfield itself remains responsible for complying with state and federal environmental laws and funding the cleanup.

That means taxpayers are effectively paying the upfront cost while the town continues to seek recoveries through litigation and settlements.

The consequences have been financial, environmental, and political.

Financially, the cleanup has cost tens of millions of dollars and may rise further. Environmentally, the town continues to test for groundwater contamination, sinkholes, and impacts to nearby wells. Politically, the scandal led to criminal prosecutions, prison terms, and years of scrutiny over Fairfield’s oversight of its public works operations.

Despite years of testing, the final scope of the cleanup is still unknown.

On April 1, 2026, Fairfield’s Board of Selectpersons approved an approximately $848,000 contract with environmental consultant Weston & Sampson to continue testing and site analysis. Work is expected to continue through May 2026 and will help determine whether further remediation is required. State and federal agencies, including the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are involved in oversight.

For now, Fairfield remains in the costly middle of a cleanup that began with illegal dumping and has become a years-long environmental and financial burden.

Sources: Town of Fairfield; local reporting.