Taxpayers could have ended up paying price for apparent false sewage recordings in Port Leyden, Mayor says

PORT LEYDEN- Tax payers in Port Leyden, NY may have been held liable for any major damages resulting from the apparent faulty readings at the wastewater treatment facility.

That’s according to the Mayor, Shawn Smith. He spoke recently to WWNY-TV.

The latest updates that have surfaced showcase a glimpse into how this whole scenario started gaining traction.

It was supposed to be the job of Jeremy Rogers, now former DPW Superintendent, to accurately keep track of daily sewage water readings into the facility and back out into the river.

It all began when Mayor Smith and the wastewater sewer operator paid a visit to the facility after a fresh snowfall. The mayor told reporters that there were no footprints through the fresh snow when they had arrived, yet all paperwork and recordings inside had already been filled out.

This led Mayor Smith to conclude that no one had been at the facility recently.

Resulting from a DEC investigation, Rogers is faced with ten misdemeanor counts of falsifying business records.

The investigation prompted Rogers to resign, but what would have happened if any major pollution subsequently leaked into the river amidst these alleged inaccurate readings? “The taxpayers of the village could have been held liable for major damages,” the Mayor told reporters.

“Thank God the river didn’t get polluted or something along those lines didn’t happen.”

Down the road in Lyons Falls, NY, Shane Rogers, a brother to Jeremy, is also charged with two counts of the same resulting from a DEC investigation.

Shane also submitted his resignation.

Moose news image.