STEWART AIRPORT – More than 2 ½ years after the PFOS contamination
of the City of Newburgh’s Washington Lake was discovered and it
was determined to originate from the Stewart Airport Air National Guard
Base, the military announced it will begin installing interim remedial
measures in the areas around the airport.
The purpose is to limit the further discharge of the carcinogenic chemical.
The Guard has proposed installing a treatment system at the wall exiting
Recreation Pond.
The Army Corps of Engineers will be at Stewart next month to determine
the specifics for the treatment system.
The Department of Defense expects the system would be functional and filtration
would begin in the next three to six months. Defense Department officials
said the $2.3 million effort would be funded with existing Air Guard money.
Senator Charles Schumer, who has been one of the main players pushing
for the Defense Department to stop the pollution and clean it up, called
the news “an absolutely massive step forward for the whole Newburgh
community.”
