[CPEO-MEF] VOCs, REGULATION: Schumer wants EPA to take over Bethpage (NY) plume

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Senator Schumer: Fed Up With Navy Slowness

Farmingdale Observer (NY)
September 30, 2011

United States Senator Charles E. Schumer has called on Environmental  
Protection Agency (EPA) Director Lisa Jackson to have the agency take  
the lead role for the clean-up of the toxic Bethpage chemical plume  
that threatens over 20 additional public drinking wells that serve  
over 250,000 Nassau County residents in the Massapequa, Bethpage, and  
South Farmingdale Water Districts.

Schumer said the slowness of the response on the part of the Navy to  
contain and remediate the toxic plume put local projections for  
contamination at roughly four years, forcing Nassau County water  
districts to begin considering financing plans for their own, locally- 
led, clean-up, which is estimated to cost $250 million and could  
result in significant rate hikes for rate payers. Schumer said that  
the Bethpage plume, one of the largest areas of contamination in New  
York State, requires a unique leadership role from the nation’s  
federal environmental regulator to prompt another federal agency, the  
U.S. Navy, to act swiftly to contain the plume they left on Long  
Island decades ago, and pay local ratepayers for treatment systems  
being built.

"Times up," said Schumer. "We have prodded, cajoled, and pushed both  
the Navy and Grumman to get serious about this clean-up and move  
expeditiously before these toxins reach more local wells. If they  
aren't going to move full steam ahead and get this done before wells  
are actually contaminated, then the EPA needs to take the lead role  
and map out an aggressive containment plan. We cannot wait for more  
wells to be contaminated from industrial pollutions before we act."

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.antonnews.com/farmingdaleobserver/news/18054-senator- 
schumer-fed-up-with-navy-slowness.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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