WASHINGTON – The Stewart Air Guard Base has been accepted into the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, in which the base was previously excluded.
At issue is the remediation of the PFAS contamination of the Newburgh/New Windsor area water sources that have been contaminated by PFAS chemicals migrating from the Stewart Air National Guard Base.
Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney have been holding the Department of Defense’s feet to the fire to have the Orange County crisis included in the funding program.
“Acceptance into the Defense Environmental Restoration Program is a game-changer for the effort to clean up the toxic PFAS mess at Stewart, and that is why we worked so hard to change the make to make it happen,” said Schumer. “Almost five years since toxic PFAS chemicals were first discovered flowing from Stewart Air National Guard Base into the City of Newburgh’s drinking water it is high time we get a real deal, with resources behind it to clean up the PFAS and protect the public health for nearby Orange County residents.”
