‘Hand over the check’

Residents of northern Seaford will soon be ensured safe drinking water, even as a toxic underground plume from the former Grumman property in Bethpage moves south. Those residents could be saddled with extra costs for that clean water, however, if the Navy doesn’t come through with a $5 million payment owed to the South Farmingdale Water District.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer visited the water district’s Plant No. 3 on Hicksville Road in Seaford on Sept. 2, where he called on the Navy to make good on its promise to pay for a new water treatment facility there. The toxic plume is a direct result of military aircraft manufacturing that took place at Grumman, starting as far back as the 1930s. Waste chemicals were disposed of on the site, and that plume has been slowly moving southeast.

With the plume approaching its well on Hicksville Road, the water district borrowed $5 million from the Town of Oyster Bay for construction of a water treatment plant there. Construction is complete, the facility is up and running and the loan is coming due.

Schumer said that the Navy, which owned portions of the Grumman property where the manufacturing took place, has agreed to pay all costs associated with construction and operation of water treatment plants. It made good on its $14.5 million payment for the water district’s treatment facility at Plant No. 1, on Langdon Road in South Farmingdale, where the district’s water tower is located, so, Schumer said, he is wondering why there is a holdup this time.

“It should not be the people who should have to pay for the Navy’s and Grumman’s mistake,” he said. “It’s that plain and simple.”

Schumer commended the water district for being proactive and getting the plant built, even without money from the Navy in hand. Water district officials said they are uncertain when the plume will reach the Seaford plant — it’s a matter of when, not if — but they are constantly monitoring the situation underground.

“They couldn’t let the water of the community be poisoned,” Schumer said. “They would have rather had the money up front, but they had no choice.”

Alison Auriemmo, an engineer for H2M Architects, which designed the plant, said that the facility removes iron from the water, and also has an air-stripping process to remove volatile organic compounds. There are sample taps throughout the building, she said, so district officials can test the water.

All wells in the South Farmingdale Water District pull water from between 400 and 700 feet below the ground.

Two of the district’s three commissioners, John Hirt and Ralph Atoria, were in attendance last week. Hirt said that residents could be saddled with an additional $1,200 in rate increases over the life of the loan if the Navy does not come through with the money.

Tom Kriedel, a spokesman for the Navy, said it is still in negotiations with the water district, and that he could not comment on the situation.

For Schumer, who vowed to take his case directly to the secretary of the Navy if necessary, the answer is simple. “The Navy knows they need to pay because they’ve promised to do so,” he said. “Hand over the check, and hand over the check now.”