SCHUMER REVEALS: US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND AIR FORCE CONTINUE TO DRAG THEIR FEET AND DELAY THE RELEASE OF SITE INVESTIGATION REPORT OF TOXIC PFC POLLUTION AT STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE; SCHUMER DEMANDS DOD FINISH AND RELEASE LONG OVERDUE REPORT – AND IMPROVE POOR COMMUNICATION WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES
PFC Compounds Continue To Pollute The City Of Newburgh’s Primary Drinking Water Source, Washington Lake, In Addition To Many Of The Nearby Waterways And Estuaries; The DOD And Air Force, Thus Far, Have Failed To Adhere To Their Own Remediation Schedule And Have Left Newburgh Residents and Local Stakeholders In The Dark
In Letter To Air Force Secretary Wilson, Schumer Expresses Frustration At The Slow Pace Of The Clean-Up And The Poor Communication And Coordination With Impacted Communities; Calls DOD Response To Contamination “Dismal” And Says DOD Should Spend Less Time Delaying And More Time Testing and Cleaning Up The PFOS Contamination in Newburgh’s Water
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today called on the Department of Defense (DOD) and the United States Air Force (USAF) to immediately release the long-overdue Site Investigation Report regarding the ongoing issue of perfluorinated compound (PFC) contamination at the Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB) in New Windsor, New York. Schumer said repeated attempts by the DOD and the USAF to avoid responsibility, their habitually missed deadlines, and opacity, adds up to a dereliction of duty, and in a letter to Secretary Wilson, Schumer expressed significant frustration at the pace of clean up and lack of clear communication and coordination with impacted communities.
“Again and again the DOD and Air Force drag their feet, missing clean-up deadlines and not keeping the communities impacted by the toxic PFOS pollution at Stewart Air National Guard Base properly informed. That is why I am demanding that DOD and the Air Force finish and promptly release the delayed Site Investigation Report,” said Senator Schumer. “Newburgh residents and children need and deserve clean water, and every day the DOD and Air Force delay release of the Site Investigation Report and execution of a clean-up plan, and implementation of no-brainer interim remediation measures, is another day that allows the toxic PFOA pollution to spread and to threaten public health and local drinking water supplies.”
Schumer added, “Worse still, is the Air Force’s utter failure to keep the community and Stewart ANGB leadership apprised of changes to the CERCLA schedule in Newburgh. These delays, coupled with the department’s woefully inadequate communication with stakeholders, is unacceptable and a dereliction of responsibility.”
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a toxic chemical often used in the manufacturing of products like fabric protectors, firefighting foam and stain repellents. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) March 2014 “Emerging Contaminants – Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)” report, PFOS chemicals are no longer allowed to be manufactured in the United States. But PFOS is also an ingredient in firefighting foam that had been used at the Stewart Air National Guard base in training and fire-suppression exercises, which has led state regulators to suspect the foam as the cause of the groundwater contamination in Newburgh and in surrounding communities. The chemicals are linked to certain cancers and other serious adverse health effects.
Schumer explained PFC compounds continue to pollute the City of Newburgh’s primary drinking water source, Washington Lake, in addition to many of the nearby waterways and estuaries. Since the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) initial discovery of the contaminant at 70 million parts per trillion in March 2016, the Air Force has failed time-and-time again to adhere to its own timeline for investigation and remediation. Schumer said the DOD’s failure to keep its promise to Newburgh residents and these interminable delays have not only eroded the community’s faith in the department’s commitment to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability (CERCLA) investigation, they have left thousands of residents without ready access to potable drinking water for over two years.
“This toxic threat to public health cannot be allowed to drag on any further, that is why I am again calling on the DOD and the Air Force immediately release this long overdue Site Investigation Report, complete the remaining steps of the CERLCA process, drastically improve communication and transparency with impacted communities, and to award a contract for full remediation of the toxic waste. Newburgh residents are tired of waiting, the Air Force and DOD must do more to address this toxic mess that the Air Force created and we must do it now,” added Schumer.
Schumer said the Air Force indicated earlier that the Air National Guard (ANG) would complete and release a Site Inspection Report by the third quarter of 2017, the ANG did not begin the process of testing and sampling until September 25th, 2017, thereby pushing back the timeline for release of the report nearly one full year. Now, according to Schumer, there are further delays to the release of the Site Investigation Report. In fact, Stewart ANGB leadership was informed in the first quarter of 2018 that the release of the report would be delayed until the second quarter of 2018, and was informed later that the report would be released by June 1, 2018 even though, as of now, the report has still not been completed or released.
Additionally, through these unexplained delays, the Air Force has either ignored or rebuffed each request from the community to move forward with critical interim remedial measures that could efficiently begin the critical remediation process and protect public health and the environment. Schumer, who has made numerous requests for common-sense interim remedial measures, such as the installation of a filtration system on the post, said his requests have been repeatedly ignored. Schumer said the Newburgh and New Windsor communities have been patient enough and called on the USAF to immediately complete and release the pending Site Investigation report, to complete the remaining steps of the CERCLA process immediately and, to improve communication and transparency with impacted communities, and finally, award a contract for full remediation of the toxic waste.
Schumer has long held the Department of Defense and the Air Force accountable for Newburgh’s water contamination. In July 2017, Schumer in a one-on-one meeting with Defense Secretary Mattis urged him to accelerate PFOA and PFOS clean up efforts in Newburgh. Also, last year during a meeting with then-U.S Air Force Secretary Nominee Heather Wilson, Schumer pressed her to prioritize the prompt clean-up of the toxic PFOA water contamination, and asked that the Air Force promptly begin and fund the full remediation of the contamination, compensate the impacted local communities, and take responsibility for any interim remedial measures with all due speed. Schumer’s meeting with Wilson came on the heels of media reports which detailed the DOD’s attempts to circumvent legal liability for the contamination on Stewart and in the nearby waterways. Previously Schumer, along with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Sean Patrick-Maloney, urged U.S. Department of Defense to immediately install carbon filtration units at the site of perfluorooctane sulfonate contamination at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in order to halt the continued discharge of contaminated water into Silver Stream. In February 2017, Schumer called on the Department of Defense to include surrounding streams and waterways including the sources, Recreation Pond, Silver Stream and Washington Lake to its draft remediation work plan in order to ensure that the DOD addresses the entire scope of contamination.
Schumer has also worked to address the continued contamination of PFOS in Newburgh’s water. Schumer joined U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and announced that the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that just passed the Senate includes a provision to authorize the cleanup and safe disposal of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid that has contaminated the Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, and National Guard bases across the country. Additionally, Schumer joined nine other senators in calling on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and other administration officials to immediately release the study reportedly being kept secret by the Trump administration that shows that PFAS are dangerous at far lower levels than EPA previously said was safe.
Finally, in 2016, Schumer introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would require DOD to launch an investigation to determine the extent of possible ground water contamination in the City of Newburgh. Schumer vowed to keep fighting for Newburgh and introduced a stand-alone bill to ensure residents are neither left-footing the cost of this cleanup effort, nor suffering the consequences from the contamination of Washington Lake.
Dear Secretary Wilson,
I write once again regarding the ongoing issue of perfluorinated compound (PFC) contamination at the Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB) in New Windsor, New York, in part to strongly urge you to promptly complete and release the too-long-overdue Site Investigation report, and, more generally, to express my significant frustration at the pace of the clean-up and the poor communication and coordination with impacted communities.
As you know, PFC compounds continue to pollute the City of Newburgh’s primary drinking water source, Washington Lake, in addition to the many of the nearby waterways and estuaries. Since the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) initial discovery of the contaminant at 70 million parts per trillion in May 2016, the Air Force has failed time-and-again to adhere to its own timeline for investigation and remediation. These interminable delays have not only eroded the community’s faith in your department’s commitment to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability (CERCLA )investigation, they have left thousands of residents without local and ready access to potable drinking water for over two years. Worst still, is the Air Force’s utter failure to keep the community and Stewart ANGB leadership apprised of changes to the CERCLA schedule in Newburgh. These delays, coupled with your department’s woefully inadequate communication with stakeholders, is unacceptable a dereliction of responsibility that must be rectified forthwith.
Despite the Air Force’s earlier indications that the Air National Guard (ANG) would complete and release a Site Inspection Report by the third quarter of 2017, the ANG did not begin the process of testing and sampling until September 25th, 2017, thereby pushing back the timeline for release of the report nearly one full year. Stewart ANGB leadership was informed in the first quarter of 2018 that release of the report would be delayed until the second quarter of 2018, and was informed later that the report would be released by June 1, 2018. As of the date of this letter, the report has still not been completed or released.
Through these unexplained delays, the Air Force has either ignored or rebuffed each request from the community to move forward with critical interim remedial measures that could efficiently begin the critical remediation process and protect public health and the environment. In addition, I have echoed these calls and made numerous requests for these common-sense interim remedial measures, such as the installation of a filtration on post. My requests were also ignored. As a result of the Air Force’s foot-dragging and opacity, contaminated water continues to flow through the installation and into ground and surface water off-post, allowing the contamination to spread even further. This is profoundly irresponsible and highlights the dire need for a more aggressive, effective and cooperative approach to the remediation of toxic PFC contamination in and around the Stewart ANG Base.
While I can appreciate the Air National Guard’s responsibility adhere to certain standards of thoroughness in the CERCLA process, I believe that the Newburgh and New Windsor communities have been patient enough. The Air Force has now forced impacted residents to wait for over two years for the Air Force and ANG to complete its investigation, and has been dismally non-communicative about the process and the various failures to meet stated deadlines. Therefore, I urge you to immediately complete and release the pending Site Investigation report, to complete the remaining steps of the CERLCA process with all due speed, to improve communication and transparency with impacted communities, and to award a contract for full remediation of the toxic waste. Please not hesitate to reach out to me or my office should you have questions or wish to discuss this matter further.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
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