State officials have requested years of records from the owner/operator of a waste-to-energy plant in Hempstead, including logs that could shed light on a whistleblower's assertion the company improperly mixed toxic waste transported to the Brookhaven landfill.

A recent letter from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to plant owner Covanta requests six categories of internal records from the plant from the years 2006 through 2014, according to a copy of the official request shown to Newsday.

Covanta is in the process of being sold to Swedish investment conglomerate EQT for $5.3 billion.

Newsday first reported on the launch of a state investigation of Covanta’s practices, initiated by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration on Nov. 16.

The DEC letter, dated Nov. 17, was obtained by attorneys for a former employee of the plant who has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.

The suit alleges Covanta improperly mixed ash from the plant for nearly a decade.

Covanta transported nearly all its ash waste from the Hempstead plant to Brookhaven, in a trash-to-ash pact that is still in place.

The former employee, Patrick Fahey, filed suit on behalf of the state, the towns of Brookhaven and Hempstead, the Village of Garden City, and the Long Island Power...

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