Hampton Bays fire station site slated for Superfund cleanup
A two-month hazardous waste cleanup to remove contaminated soil at this Hampton Bays fire station site, located at 69 W. Montauk Highway, is expected to begin in September, according to state officials. Credit: Newsday/Megan Miller
A two-month hazardous waste cleanup to remove contaminated soil at a state Superfund site in Hampton Bays is expected to begin in September, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The cleanup at the Hampton Bays fire station, located on a two-acre site at 69 W. Montauk Highway, will follow the earlier detection of two chemicals previously used commonly in firefighting foam that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dubbed “forever chemicals.”
The DEC is accepting written comments on the cleanup plan through May 10. The agency said the work tentatively is scheduled to start in September, pending the plan's approval. After the public comment period, the DEC said it will revise the plan as needed and finalize it in consultation with the New York State Department of Health.
In 2019, state officials added the site to its Superfund registry. At the time, the DEC noted the site “presents a significant threat to public health and/or the environment.”
In 2014, the human-made chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were detected in drinking water supply wells 600 feet from the fire station. Contaminants also were found in shallow soil in an area where a fire training exercise was held in the 1990s, according to the DEC.
PFOS and PFOA had been used in firefighting foams until about 20 years ago, when they began to be phased out, according to the EPA. The agency has linked exposure to PFOS and PFOA to several defects, from testicular and kidney cancers to negative effects on the thyroid and immune system, among others.
The Hampton Bays Water District installed a treatment system in its public supply wells across the street from the site and no private water supply wells currently are impacted or threatened, according to the DEC. The agency said the property is safe for the fire department's operations as well as public events held there.
Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said last week the town and water district have been working with the DEC and Hampton Bays Fire Department to assist in the cleanup “for a number of years.”
Stanley Orzechowski, an attorney for Hampton Bays Fire District, said the district and its environmental consultant, P.W. Grosser Consulting, worked with the DEC to prepare the plan that's under review.
"I think overall we've been ahead of the curve and doing everything as promptly as possible," he added.
Highlights of the proposed cleanup plan, which the fire district will carry out with DEC oversight, include:
• Excavation and disposal of contaminated surface soil and soil in sanitary and drainage structures.
• Installation of another groundwater monitoring well.
• Collection and analysis of post-remedial soil samples to ensure cleanup is effective.
• Implementation of a community air monitoring plan during work at the site.
• Analysis of samples from groundwater monitoring wells.
Access to the plan and directions on how to comment are on the DEC's Superfund website.
A two-month hazardous waste cleanup to remove contaminated soil at a state Superfund site in Hampton Bays is expected to begin in September, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The cleanup at the Hampton Bays fire station, located on a two-acre site at 69 W. Montauk Highway, will follow the earlier detection of two chemicals previously used commonly in firefighting foam that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dubbed “forever chemicals.”
The DEC is accepting written comments on the cleanup plan through May 10. The agency said the work tentatively is scheduled to start in September, pending the plan's approval. After the public comment period, the DEC said it will revise the plan as needed and finalize it in consultation with the New York State Department of Health.
In 2019, state officials added the site to its Superfund registry. At the time, the DEC noted the site “presents a significant threat to public health and/or the environment.”
In 2014, the human-made chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were detected in drinking water supply wells 600 feet from the fire station. Contaminants also were found in shallow soil in an area where a fire training exercise was held in the 1990s, according to the DEC.
PFOS and PFOA had been used in firefighting foams until about 20 years ago, when they began to be phased out, according to the EPA. The agency has linked exposure to PFOS and PFOA to several defects, from testicular and kidney cancers to negative effects on the thyroid and immune system, among others.
The Hampton Bays Water District installed a treatment system in its public supply wells across the street from the site and no private water supply wells currently are impacted or threatened, according to the DEC. The agency said the property is safe for the fire department's operations as well as public events held there.
Southampton Town Attorney James Burke said last week the town and water district have been working with the DEC and Hampton Bays Fire Department to assist in the cleanup “for a number of years.”
Stanley Orzechowski, an attorney for Hampton Bays Fire District, said the district and its environmental consultant, P.W. Grosser Consulting, worked with the DEC to prepare the plan that's under review.
"I think overall we've been ahead of the curve and doing everything as promptly as possible," he added.
Highlights of the proposed cleanup plan, which the fire district will carry out with DEC oversight, include:
• Excavation and disposal of contaminated surface soil and soil in sanitary and drainage structures.
• Installation of another groundwater monitoring well.
• Collection and analysis of post-remedial soil samples to ensure cleanup is effective.
• Implementation of a community air monitoring plan during work at the site.
• Analysis of samples from groundwater monitoring wells.
Access to the plan and directions on how to comment are on the DEC's Superfund website.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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Two body parts suspects in court ... Teen chicken keeper ... Rangers advance ... Penn upgrades
