SOUTH DEERFIELD — Former South Deerfield Water Supply District Superintendent Roger Sadoski Jr. has surrendered his professional water license, is barred from any public water supply work and must pay $200,000 in civil penalties after settling claims he illegally altered water quality reports and illegally handled and removed asbestos pipes, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Friday.
From 2014 to 2018, Sadoski and the South Deerfield Water Supply District allegedly failed to report levels of chlorine and the turbid quality (the cloudiness) in the public’s water by repeatedly altering the water records and monthly reports before sending them to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Additionally, the South Deerfield Water Supply District allegedly, under Sadoski’s orders, illegally handled and removed asbestos-containing pipe, which polluted the air and put the health of both staff and the public at risk, according to the attorney general’s office.
“Our residents deserve clean drinking water, and the superintendent responsible for South Deerfield’s water quality and the water district failed them,” Healey said in a statement. “By not complying with our state’s asbestos laws, they also put the health of their employees and the public at risk. We will hold accountable those who violate our important laws designed to protect the public from contaminants in our water and from the dangers of asbestos.”
John P. Connor, an attorney from Greenfield-based Stobierski & Connor who is representing Sadoski and the South Deerfield Water Supply District, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
As part of the settlement, the South Deerfield Water Supply District, which is separate from town government, must implement a series of preventative measures to ensure high water quality for the roughly 3,800 residents of South Deerfield and the portion of Whately the district serves, according to the AG’s office. The water district will also undergo regular water quality and asbestos audits performed by third-party auditors, as well as additional employee training.
Current South Deerfield Water Supply District Superintendent Daniel Dion also could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.