Inconsistent Practice of a City Engineer
The City of Somewhere has an engineering department consisting of multiple divisions, water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, and traffic. Each divsion is headed by a licensed professional engineer or an E.I.T. which reports to the City Engineer. Land developments by private developers must go through an approval process by which each department evaluates the development per a written set of City standards for each division.
Developer A wants to convert a mobile home park into a regular single-family residential subdivision and hires Engineer X to design the project. Engineer X submits a design to the City of Somewhere's Engineering department for review. The City Engineer approves the design plans by affixing his seal and signature to the plans. Developer A constructs the project per the approved design.
After some time passes, two major components of the developments drainage system fail, a detention pond and an outlet structure for the pond. Developer A hires Engineer Y to evaluate the failure and recommend a repair. Engineer Y presents a repair to the City Engineer which does not alter the hydraulic design of Engineer X, but the City Engineer requires Engineer Y to submit hydraulic calculations per the City's Minimum Technical Standards for Land Development before the City Engineer will approve the proposed repair. Engineer Y requests the City Engineer provide a copy of Engineer X's drainage calculations for comparison. The City Engineer informs Engineer Y that Engineer X did not submit any calculations as part of Engineer X's design. City staff also inform Engineer Y that Engineer X never submits drainage calculations for any development Engineer X has ever presented to the City Engineer. The City Engineer likely approved the plans based on the recommendation of the City Storm Drainage Engineer. Would it have been ethical for the Storm Drainage Engineer to recommend approval without the calculations the City's Technical Standards call for? Is it ethical for the City Engineer to force Engineer Y to submit calculations when the City Engineer did not require Engineer X to submit calculations?