Hired to fix the mechanical and personnel problems plaguing Baltimore’s sewage treatment plants, Robert G. Hindt has fallen victim to the department’s turmoil.

The veteran engineer has been terminated by the Department of Public Works as wastewater division chief. His departure follows a July 9 report by Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming documenting substandard working conditions at the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Cumming and her staff found cracked flooring, a men’s locker room where the temperature was nearly 90 degrees, broken showers and urinals, and a “chemical haze” inside a room at the facility that treats about 65 million gallons of sewage daily coming from the city and parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties.

DPW confirmed that Hindt was no longer employed by the city.

Asked why he stepped down, a spokesperson said that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment on personnel matters, including the circumstances surrounding an employee’s separation.”

“A Straight Shooter”

A department source said Hindt was unfairly terminated and was being “scapegoated” to cover up for DPW’s poor management practices and continuing safety issues.

“He was highly qualified,” the source said, adding that he will be missed.

Residents near the Back River Waste Water Treatment Plant who had interactions with Hindt also said they liked and respected him.

“He was a good person. A straight shooter,” said Essex resident Mary A. Taylor, one of the founders of the Back River Community Action Group.

Taylor said she had spoken with Hindt on the phone multiple times and recalled a tour of the Back River plant that he conducted for her and two other members of her group.

“He was cautious about his answers, but way more willing to help me understand the good, the bad and the ugly at the BRWWTP,” Taylor said. “We spent almost three hours on a tour over there, which is way more than the average group receives.”

Long Troubled

Both Back River and the smaller Patapsco plant in far South Baltimore have a long history of pollution infractions, employee injuries, dangerous explosions and revolving management.

In 2022, the Back River plant was taken over by Maryland Environmental Service under an emergency order. Baltimore City regained control of the facility in 2023 after signing a legal agreement with the state and instituting sometimes controversial infrastructure improvements.

Various plant managers, including the agency’s top wastewater chief, resigned.

Hindt was hired in September 2024 and pledged to help make DPW “best in class.”

His efforts to reduce the “rotten egg” stench of hydrogen sulfide, which frequently emits from the treatment process, were only partly successful. Last month an electrical explosion hospitalized two outside contractors at the Patapsco plant.

Before coming to DPW, Hindt managed the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant for Howard County. During his seven-year tenure, the sewage plant won the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and several other awards for establishing advanced biosolids processing.

Mike Hallmen, deputy head of the Bureau of Water and Wastewater, has temporarily assumed Hindt’s job.

• Fern Shen contributed to this story. Confidentially contact The Brew at reuttermark@yahoo.com.