Carmelo Nicolosi, a former Conservation Commission member said he didn't give Yard Boss owner Todd Rodrigues permission to draft water from public waterways 10 years ago.

Nicolosi, who was on the board from 2003 to 2011, said he never spoke with Rodrigues about the issue, which has now become a major problem for the town.

The current Conservation Commission discussed Yard Boss's water withdrawal for the purpose of hydroseeding on numerous occasions in 2015. In October, Chair Bob Rogers called the practice "shameful," though it seems no permit is required from the town to draft water from rivers as long as the amount does not exceed 100,000 gallons a day.

During a meeting with the commission last November, Rodrigues said Nicolosi gave him a verbal confirmation that he could take water as long as he avoided the herring weir when the fish were running in the spring.

Nicolosi said his only conversation regarding the issue was with Mattapoisett police when they and the environmental police were assessing Rodrigues' operation to make sure glass eels were not harmed in the water withdrawal, but he was not involved in their decision.

"That was the only time I had anything to do with that," said Nicolosi. "It wasn't Carmelo Nicolosi who gave them permission."

The Conservation Commission chair and Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold are both under fire from Rodrigues who is suing them for defamation to the tune of $250,000. That matter is still pending litigation. Read more about it here.