High levels of forever chemicals found in 4 test wells near site of East Hampton battery fire

The most recent test wells just south of a battery storage plant in East Hampton have shown levels of a forever chemical at more than 1 million parts per trillion, raising questions about the extent of contamination from the plant.

Newsday on Wednesday received a copy of the latest report after tests conducted by Suffolk County earlier this month. It showed extremely high detections that are well above drinking water standards of the toxin, known as ultrashort-chain PFPrA, at the test wells. Around 30 residents have private wells in the area, and not all have been tested yet.

Suffolk said water tests at private homes have not yet shown the toxin above drinking water standards, but noted the plume is moving southward and "there's always a concern"  it could, said Andy Rapiejko, associate hydrogeologist for the Suffolk Health Services Department. "We don't know unless we test."  

The toxic plume has already affected public drinking water wells around 2,500 feet south of battery plant, which experienced a thermal-runaway fire in 2023 that was treated with more than 2.2 million gallons of water. Soot-impacted water pooled off-site. The test wells are just north of public wells operated by the Suffolk County Water Authority.

Suffolk County has tested the water from nine private wells around the plume. Thus far, the tests haven't shown the specific chemical above the 50,000 parts per trillion standard, Rapiejko said. 

Levels of the toxic compound at the separate Suffolk test wells were found to be as high as 1.7 million parts per trillion in one sample, and 1.08 million parts per trillion in another’s home’s sample. There were also separately high readings of PFOS and PFOA at two of the wells, according to the data. 

Justin Hogan, an East Hampton resident who lives across the street from a test well that showed the highest levels, called the figures "ridiculous." 

He's on public water, but said, "If we have a toxic plume underneath this property, I don't know what it does to the property values."

The plume is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by the Suffolk water authority, which was forced to shut down or sharply restrict those drinking water wells because of the discovery of the ultrashort-chain forever chemicals in the water. Those closures have heightened a water shortage in the Hamptons at the height of the summer season. 

In responses to Newsday on Thursday, water authority spokesman Dan Dubios said two partially impacted public wells are on restricted use and neither has been used for drinking water since at least late June. 

One well is in "restricted status and has not been run since June 26th. Well 4 is out of service as we await new sample results," Dubois wrote in responses to Newsday. Two other wells have been off since the spring. The county has not yet released test results from those wells.

Earlier this week, the authority declared a Stage 1 water alert on the East End, because of a drought and record use, but also because the four East Hampton wells are essentially out of service.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has long advocated for the battery plants, doubling the state mandate for them to 6,000 megawatts by 2030, in 2023 declared there were "no harmful levels of toxins detected" at the East Hampton site and two others that experienced fires that year. A state task-force analysis at the time, she said, "shows no notable lasting impacts on the health or safety of the first responders or the communities they serve."

Hochul spokesman Ken Lovett previously has said while the governor can't comment on the litigation, she "immediately" reconvened her interagency fire-safety working group "on becoming aware of the situation," and the State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation "are investigating any potential impacts to water quality."

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen is calling for quicker and more decisive action.

"My concern is what is the plan with this plant?" he said. "This could happen again tomorrow and we'd have the same results."

The battery plant has since been rebuilt and restored to operation in 2024. Another battery facility in Montauk has also undergone redesigns, Newsday has reported. Both are under contract to LIPA. 

Larsen said, "I think we should shut it down until we know there's some sort of [water] containment plan for this plant" in the event of another fire. "I think we shut down this one and the one in Montauk until we know there's a plan." 

The owner of the sites, National Grid and its battery partner NextEra, have declined to comment on the topic, citing the pending litigation, though NextEra spokesman Chris Curtland has previously said, " ... we stand ready to work with county and state agencies on any further actions that require our assistance." 

The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which did not order groundwater testing in 2023 because soil tests didn't show conclusive impacts and closed its investigation of the site in 2024, didn't immediately respond to Newsday questions about the latest Suffolk test results. 

The DEC has previously said it is developing a work plan for the site, one including new rounds of water tests and an investigation of al possible causes of the plume. DEC said it plans to release a report on the site by late summer or early fall. 

At a meeting Monday of state and local officials about the plume, the DEC told attendees it expects to have a contractor on site by Friday, with drilling of up to eight wells to begin sometime next week, according to an official who attended who asked not to be identified. Results could be available in a month. 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the test wells.