Nov. 1--STAMFORD -- Public records do not show Republican mayoral candidate Michael Pavia knew of pesticide contamination in wells near Scofieldtown Park before leaving his post as director of public works, as some North Stamford residents have claimed.

Democratic candidate David Martin, for his part, has often stated he was the first to call for closing of Scofieldtown Park after he learned of contamination there in May. Interviews with city officials corroborate the claim.

Pollution at the former industrial dump has become a key issue in the campaign, and both candidates have promised to act quickly to solve the problem. But as Election Day nears, some residents want clarity on what the candidates knew during their time in public positions, and what action they did or did not take.

The following review of city, state and federal records and interviews with the candidates and others brings into focus some details of the candidates' records.

Michael Pavia

Online chat groups and chain emails among concerned North Stamford residents recently have circulated rumors that Pavia knew of pesticide contamination in private wells as public works director under Mayor Stanley Esposito. Pavia held the post from December 1991 into December 1995.

The claim first became public this month, when The Advocate published a letter by Netta Stern, a park neighbor. Stern wrote that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report in June 1995 showed "an assortment

of toxins" in samples gathered in the park and from private wells.

In fact, the EPA did not issue a final report on well tests until March 1996, after Mayor Dannel Malloy and his new administration took office. Federal records show the EPA wrote to Pavia in 1994 asking permission to enter the park. Federal contractors visited the former dump twice in 1995, in December to conduct surveillance and again to collect samples in May. The June 1995 EPA report to which Stern referred detailed the samples' locations and conditions the inspectors found.

Asked whether he knew of water contamination while public works director, Pavia said he did not learn of well problems until a year ago, when he read the most recent federal report, released in late 2008. Pavia said his involvement in monitoring the former landfill was limited to ensuring the landfill cover was not breached.

"I think at the time the general perspective on that landfill was one of maintenance," Pavia said, "maintaining the cover on the landfill and making sure there always was a cap over it."

During and immediately before Pavia's time as public works chief, state officials tested water samples and concluded the landfill was not affecting nearby wells. In 1989, the state Department of Environmental Protection collected 12 water samples.