SWAN LAKE – Sullivan County Government has begun a detailed environmental investigation of contamination at the Sullivan County International Airport in Swan Lake.
The airport is listed as a Class 2 site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites in the list of State Superfund sites.
A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment with action required.
The investigation will define the nature and extent of contamination in soil, surface water, groundwater and any other parts of the environment that may be affected for the purposes of developing a cleanup plan to protect public health and the environment.
Past investigations in the area have determined that PFAS contamination exists on the site. That is the chemical used in firefighting foam and utilized at the airport for fire training activities.
The study will include sampling of soil borings, sampling of groundwater wells to further characterize and monitor the potential for the leaching of soil contamination in groundwater, testing of existing bedrock wells, and continued assessment of private well sampling data.
The State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health have tested 21 properties in the area with private wells and four showed PFOA levels above the state’s public drinking water standard.
Those properties with contaminated wells have been provided with bottled water by the county.
