Bolton wastewater treatment facility supervisor charged with falsifying records

ALBANY, NY (WRGB) The DEC says Following a year long investigation by it’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes, Thomas A. French ll,the superintendent of the Bolton wastewater treatment facility was arrested with the help of state police.

French is charged with four counts of falsifying business records, four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, and two counts of tampering with or knowingly rendering inaccurate any monitoring device or method required.

He plead not guilty in Albany City Court Tuesday.

Chris Navitsky is the Lake George Waterkeeper.

A report his organization compiled was one of several the state dec cited when bringing charges against French.

“The allegations are a concern, in a way that validates some of our concerns that there was a change in the water quality around the plant . and that’s why we started monitoring it,” said Navitsky.

Navitsky says the wastewater treatment plant has to meet certain DEC standards to maintain the designated use of the water body. He says Lake George is a higher threshold because it’s a drinking water supply and contact recreation.

In 2016 algae in the lake led them to start monitoring around the Bolton sewage treatment plant.

“Algae tells us that something is happening in the water column that there is more nutrients getting in than there should be,” said Navitsky.

He says the town has been working with them, but they can only go by records the town sees.

“But if somebody is changing that and altering that then that is a problem for the town, it’s a problem for its residents and it’s a problem for the lake,” Navitsky said.

Court paperwork also reveals French is accused of directing employees to open the bypass valve without dec approval, allowing sewage to discharge into the environment.

French is out on his own recognizance and will return to court one week from Tuesday. French faces fines of up to $10,000 and four years in prison if convicted.