ALBANY – The state Department of Environmental Conservation Friday
listed the chemicals PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances. The listing,
backdated to April 25, came at the request of the state Department of
Health.
The rule making provides time for facilities storing firefighting foam
containing one or more of those newly listed hazardous substances to properly
dispose of them and provides time for firefighting operations to find
replacement foams.
The proposal also corrects the tables of hazardous substances by providing
units for reportable quantities.
The DEC will receive written comments on the amendments through July 8.
The Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport, which is near the City
of Newburgh’s primary water source, Washington Lake, is responsible
for all crash, fire and rescue functions on the civilian and military
sides of the airport. It employs firefighting foam, which includes those
hazardous materials. While the EPA has said the levels found in the lake
are below the danger levels, the Guard base is being considered as one
potential source for the contamination as the chemical stored there may
have leaked into feeder streams.
State and federal agencies have been spending the last week testing the
water and researched its potential source. Once that is determined, it
will have to be decided how to stop the source and filter the chemical
out of the water.
Another extremely important issue is who is going to pay for the cleanup,
which could run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In the meantime, Newburgh is feeding its water pipes from Brown’s
Pond, the city’s backup source.
