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Agreement could be near for plume cleanup
A deal to clean up the toxic underground plume that is threatening drinking water in Seaford is expected by the end of this month, according to a letter recently sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The letter, dated March 20 and directed to Sen. Charles Schumer, was in response to a letter Schumer wrote on Feb. 28, calling on the EPA to order the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman to fulfill their responsibility to clean up the plume, which emanated in Bethpage and has spread south of the Southern State Parkway into northern Seaford.
Late last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation sponsored by State Assemblyman Joseph Saladino (R-Massapequa) mandating that the state Department of Environmental Conservation put in place a plan to contain and eventually remove the swath of toxins, which has been spreading since its discovery nearly 40 years ago. The contamination dates back to the 1930s, when the Navy operated a Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve at the Grumman site in Bethpage.
According to Schumer, the DEC notified Northrop Grumman in November that it was expected to participate, along with the Navy, in the cleanup of the plume. The DEC gave Northrop Grumman 30 days to sign an order of consent. When 90 days passed without its signing, Schumer sent the letter to the EPA.
Last month, Judith A. Enck, a regional administrator for the EPA, responded that an agreement was in the works between Northrop Grumman and the DEC, and that it is expected by the end of April.
“We agree that this is a matter of great importance, and that progress in addressing the full scope of contamination has been slow,” Enck wrote. “Long Island residents rely primarily on groundwater as their source of drinking water. It is essential that this toxic plume be addressed in a timely and effective fashion to ensure that the people of Long Island can continue to have clean drinking water.”
The plume has threatened several wells in the area, including in the Bethpage, Massapequa, Levittown and South Farmingdale water districts. At South Farmingdale’s well, off Route 107 in northern Seaford, a water treatment plant was built to remove contaminants.
