NEWBURGH – Representatives from the State Department of Environmental Conservation said Monday evening that the Department of Defense (DOD) has not yet given an answer regarding a request for a revised, comprehensive investigation plan for the PFOS contamination to the City of Newburgh’s water supply.
DEC Director of Environmental Remediation for the Hudson Valley Region George Heitzman said the DOD had presented a draft initial work plan, but the DEC did not find it to be adequate and the agency is still awaiting the federal agency’s response to revision requests.
“We’re waiting for them to do two things: to conduct a very comprehensive investigation of all the source areas on the Air National Guard Base and also to stop the release of contaminants from a storm-water retention pond that receives their storm-water runoff,” Heitzman said. “That is the primary source of this contamination.”
If the DOD continues to be unresponsive regarding the issue, there is a possibility the state will file claim against them as it falls under the fed’s responsibilities regarding the State Superfund. However, as the DEC has been handling much of the investigation on the contamination thus far, Heitzman said they will continue to do the work regardless of the outcome.
“We are waiting for the Department of Defense to do what is their responsibility; and if they fail to do that, we will step in,” he said.
City Manager Michael Ciaravino urged the NYSDEC to put more pressure on the DOD and to set a precedent against the idea that Newburgh is a “dumping ground.” However, some city residents are still more concerned about the health repercussions of having consumed the water and what their blood test results mean, rather than which agency will take responsibility for investigation and cleanup.
Newburgh resident Gordon Sakow said he believes the issue is beginning to focus on who will be liable for potential legal actions, rather than the health of the exposed residents.
“You heard it in today’s meeting – sue, sue, sue,” said Sakow. “The state, the city, the towns; they don’t want to be held responsible for the injuries that may have sustained by the users of the water. No one wants to be involved in the cleanup because that gets into the millions of dollars. It’s always about the money. No one wants to pay for it and no one wants to expose themselves to litigation to maybe have to pay some in the future.”
Representatives from the New York State Department of Health continue to relay to residents that blood testing is at their own discretion and that there are just not enough scientific studies of PFOS effects in humans to provide definitive causality regarding specific medical conditions they believe may have been caused from drinking the water.
The data from the approximately 2,000 blood test recipients to date will be used to further study the chemicals effects in humans and findings will be presented to the public, said Health Department Research Scientist James Bowers.
“Right now, what we’re doing is collecting the information and we will put out a report describing the blood test results for different groups of people in Newburgh,” Bowers said. “We’ll look at different demographics, different lengths of time that people have lived in the area and just try to describe broadly what we’ve learned from these blood tests.”
Blood test orders expire June 30 and although the health department has prepared to take people for testing past that date, they are urging those who want a test to get one before the deadline.
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