BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- The Village of Massena Department of Public Works is currently without backup power at its wastewater plant following a mechanical failure.

DPW Superintendent Marty Miller recently told village board members the switch gear, which goes to the backup power to run the plant, will prove to be a costly fix.

"We had some major issues with that. The state that we are currently in, we have no backup system in place and it could get quite costly for this repair," Miller said.

Miller said the DPW has already paid $9,000 for a consultant to come in and troubleshoot the issue, adding further expenses to what will likely be a very expensive fix.

He told board members the plant is also not set up to bring in a temporary power plant in the event there is a power failure, further complicating the situation.

“I was under the impression that just getting that generator will be cheaper than fixing that second line,” Mayor Greg Paquin said.

Paquin said he spoke with plant Superintendent Taylor Zappia about the cost to rectify the situation.

But Miller reiterated that the plant is not capable of handling a temporary setup that would allow them to bring in a generator unit.

"We're working (on that) right now, trying to get the exact size of what we are going to need for a generator," Miller said.

In the meantime, Miller said he has informed the Department of Environmental Conservation of the issue. Miller did not say if the DEC would be able to offer assistance in the meantime.

Miller said he has reached out to a firm that could possibly help with wiring, so the plant would have the necessary leads to hook a generator up if need be.

He said DPW still did not have a concrete number of what size generator would be necessary.

Even to have a generator that size here, it’s an issue. It’s a big issue, and right now we’re just taking it day by day trying to get through every day," he said.