WASTE MANAGEMENT --

Have you hopped on the garbage truck bandwagon, questioning Bob “Geraldo” Norman’s impartiality?

Are you, along with many others, wondering if his post New Times greener pastures included WM stock options?

At the June 22 close, WM shares were trading at $32.37.

Has WPLG’s Norman stopped even hinting at balanced journalism? Two seconds on the Googles would have revealed these choice headlines:

• $7.5M to settle charges against Wheelabrator
• Wheelabrator Compromises with DEP over Environmental Violation
• Wheelabrator settles lawsuit amid alleged environmental violations

$7.5M? Lawsuit? Environmental violations? What gives?

Glad you asked.

In 2009, two company employees filed a complaint alleging Wheelbrator “failed to put a check on the outflow of toxic gases in its facilities” and did not contain wastewater and ash; thereby dumping lead, cadmium, and arsenic into the wetlands, posing “a threat to human health and the environment.”

Local elected officials were flabbergasted by the accusations. Selectman Stephen Horlick said “it’s particularly troublesome that it took a Wheelabrator employee to come forward to levy the accusations against the company.” He wondered how many violations have taken place at the Saugus plant over the last 30 years that were never brought forward.

Is your kid glowing green? Does your cat double as a night light? Do you live on Love Canal Way?

If so, then you might be a redneck have a problem.

In 2011, Wheelabrator cut a $7.5M deal, $2M in civil penalties alone, with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection resolving multiple environmental violations and settling claims the company violated the Clean Water Act, the Hazardous Waste Management Act, and the Wetlands Protection Act.

Wheelabrator officials admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement and indicated they took the action to avoid lengthy litigation.

Admitted no wrongdoing? WTF? How did they keep a straight face and say “oh that lead.” Is that cadmium with a “k”?

This settlement was the largest for a Massachusetts case alleging environmental violations.

* All of this reminds us of Norman’s slanted handling of Howard “Pine Hollow” Dvorkin — that is, anyone with big dollars must always be the only one in the wrong.

First Dvokrin, now Ron Bergeron.