Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin on Monday called on the U.S. Navy to “clean up your mess” and undertake a comprehensive remediation of groundwater contamination stemming from the former Navy/Grumman site in Calverton.
Standing outside Riverhead Town Hall alongside local and county officials, Romaine and Halpin signed a letter addressed to Acting Navy Secretary Hao urging immediate action to address contamination that officials said has spread from the former Calverton aircraft manufacturing and testing site into Swan Pond, Donohue Pond and the Peconic River.
Groundwater and surface waters have been “impacted by the contamination the Navy left behind that they did not address,” Romaine said during the press conference. “It’s not getting better.”
The letter cites contamination from volatile organic compounds, PFAS chemicals, 1,4-dioxane, petroleum and chlorinated solvents linked to the former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, where Grumman operated an aircraft manufacturing and testing facility from 1954 to 1996.
The officials said Suffolk County testing found elevated levels of contaminants in groundwater and surface waters moving toward the Peconic Estuary.
The letter states that 1,4-dioxane measuring 14.9 micrograms per liter was detected between Swan Pond and Donohue Pond, nearly 15 times New York State’s drinking water standard of 1 microgram per liter. It also states that Suffolk County testing found 11 PFAS compounds in all 21 samples collected, with 12 samples exceeding 1,000 nanograms per liter. New York State’s drinking water standard for PFAS is currently 10 nanograms per liter.
County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said county groundwater monitoring and profile well testing show contamination plumes continuing to move through the area.
“We can study and study and look and look, but at this point, we need a plan to clean this up,” Pigott said.
Romaine criticized the Navy for what he described as a lack of urgency and communication, including its response to Suffolk County Health Department testing and the Navy’s questioning of the validity of the county’s data.
He also criticized the Navy for its plans to hold the next Restoration Advisory Board meeting virtually instead of in person.
Source: RiverheadLOCAL
