An EPA consent decree became a career changer for Charles Martin, director of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) Division of Water Quality. In 2006, EPA and the Commonwealth of Kentucky filed a lawsuit against Lexington for Clean Water Act violations based on sewage discharges into streams.
Finalized in 2011, the consent decree agreement requires the study, design, and implementation of numerous construction projects to repair sewer pipes, improve the city’s stormwater system by 2026, and make operational and managerial changes to prevent future problems. Under his leadership, LFUCG not only has made significant progress toward satisfying the consent decree, including reductions in sanitary sewer overflows, but also has won awards for improving Lexington’s environment. The LFUCG Division of Water Quality recently won two awards for improving Lexington’s environment, including the 2018 Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Kentucky for the city’s Town Branch Wet Weather Flow Storage and Pumping Station, a 22-million-gallon above grade, pre-stressed wet-weather concrete storage tank designed to help eliminate sewer overflows during heavy rain events. Additionally, Martin was honored with the Robert Lauderdale Award for Outstanding Contributions in Water Quality by the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute for his work overseeing Lexington’s consent decree capital program, which encompassed massive sanitary sewer system upgrades and improvements toward a positive impact on water quality.
What He Does Day to Day
Troubleshooting consumes the majority of Martin’s workday. “In city government, you get exposed to a constant barrage of problems and complaints, big and small, that come from all sources—from elected officials to citizens who saw your name in the newspaper regarding the last problem that was newsworthy,” he notes. Martin credits the resolution of those problems to the ability to delegate tasks to his “exceptional staff.” He says he also spends time following up to ensure “everyone did what they needed to do in a timely fashion and that the outcomes were communicated to the people who needed to know.” Martin’s focus is on the big-picture items, which he approaches as a hands-on person. The consent decree led to the task of creating programs from scratch, which he says taps into his strength of “seeing the problem, developing a solution, and identifying those best suited to implement the solution.” Examples include the water quality management fee, the Stormwater Water Quality Projects Incentive Grant Program, the Capacity Assurance Program, and the Sanitary Sewers Remedial Measures Plan. “They all are products of the consent decree and initially had considerable public input and scrutiny but to date are generally viewed as success stories because we came up with an achievable plan of action,” notes Martin. “I’m proud of my leadership role in that.”
What Led Him Into This Line of Work
Martin worked for an Ohio county water and sewer department out of high school. A few years later, he pursued and earned a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Michigan. “Taking that path probably contributed to my hands-on nature, starting in operations and later becoming an engineer, which then led to being a utility manager,” he says. Martin’s work took him into the stormwater and MS4 aspect of water quality because of the consent decree when the city’s leaders decided he needed to oversee the program and manage the required changes. “Thus, my job changed from the director of sanitary sewers to the director of water quality,” he says.
What He Likes Best About His Work
“I love fixing a citizen’s problem,” says Martin. “We work for them, and when they are pleased with an outcome, I’ve done my job. That’s very satisfying.”
His Greatest Challenge
“All of my challenges link back to the same commonality: government’s ability to hire and retain an exceptional workforce,” says Martin. “As the baby boomers retire—I’m one of them but likely last out the door—it has become increasingly difficult to hire and retain the skills necessary to replace those retirees. It is becoming a very real and frequent challenge. I’ve lost four key people in the last month: two to retirement and two to other utilities that have the same problem we do.”
