GARY | Gary city and sanitary district officials have collectively shrugged over why the feds are investigating them.

By his own admission, Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has spent little time at the facility he is supposed be administering, a position he lobbied for against federal authority wishes.

Clay is paid about $31,000 per year in addition to his mayor salary to oversee the district.

"I'm the administrator of the Sanitary District, but I've only been out there twice since I've been in office," Clay recently told The Times when questioned about a recent federal raid of the Gary Sanitary District offices.

Systemic problems at the district existed before his reign but continue to flourish under Clay's leadership, Gary environmentalist Lee Botts said.

"He inherited the problem, but he hasn't done anything to fix it," Botts said.

Neither Clay nor sanitary district attorney Hamilton Carmouche responded to multiple calls from The Times last week seeking comment on the matter.

Federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, raided district offices last week in search of "evidence of environmental crime."

The district is run daily by private operator United Water, now under a recently extended $10.8 million annual contract.

As special administrator of the district, Clay is "the boss," former sanitary district attorney James Meyer said. "He is responsible to make sure everything is done properly."

The role was created in November 1991, when a judge appointed then-Mayor Thomas Barnes special administrator in a federal consent decree aimed at cutting the district's pollution to the Grand Calumet River.

The role was established in part to help override Gary City Council protests regarding sewage rate increases, Meyer said.

The job was never intended to exist past ensuring the district met federal consent decree requirements.

"That hasn't happened yet," Botts said.

Clay's administrative tenure began about two months after being sworn in as mayor in 2006. Federal court records show that federal authorities supported Clay only after trying to fill the slot with someone else.

The government searched for a person "with experience in environmental engineering or environmental science. Unfortunately, in the short time available, the United States was unable to find such (a person)," a letter from the U.S. attorney's office states.

The letter also noted that if not satisfied with Gary's compliance, the government "reserves the right to petition the court to appoint a new special administrator."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Ault, of the federal office in Hammond, would not comment Friday regarding whether a new administrator is being pursued.

The federal order assigning him the post states that Clay "has assured ... he will fulfill all of the responsibilities of the Special Administrator ... to assure the proper operation of the Gary Sanitary District."

"Obviously, he has not (fulfilled his role)," Botts said.

A recent state inspection of the district noted several violations, including faulty equipment and repeated pollution releases.