Oyster Bay and Northrop Grumman reach tentative deal on sealed Bethpage documents, filings show

Northrop Grumman will provide Oyster Bay with sealed documents as part of a tentative agreement, ending an impasse over the town's quest for material it says is key to understanding decades of chemical waste disposal, a federal court filing shows.  

The development follows a federal judge's decision in June to partially grant the town’s motion to unseal documents from a case involving insurance company, The Travelers Cos., and Northrop Grumman. Travelers, which insured Grumman Aerospace in the 1970s and 1980s, had successfully argued it would not be financially liable for Grumman's role in polluting the environment. Northrop Grumman is the corporate successor to Grumman Aerospace.

Nearly every exhibit in that case, which concluded in 2014, was filed under seal, Newsday previously reported.

In a letter dated July 11, lawyers for Northrop Grumman and Oyster Bay said they had “reached an agreement in principle that, assuming it is finalized as anticipated, will obviate the need for the Town’s motion” to unseal the court filings. The letter requests an extension through Aug. 29 to finalize the agreement.

Brian Nevin, an Oyster Bay Town spokesman, said in an email that Northrop Grumman had “agreed to provide the information requested in the Town’s motion to unseal, subject to both Grumman’s ability to review materials which contained confidential information and protective orders in ongoing environmental litigation between the Town and Grumman.”

Northrop Grumman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Monthslong dispute

Town officials had pursued the sealed documents for months. The filings, lawyers for Oyster Bay argued, would shed light on the way Grumman Aerospace handled chemical waste at its facilities in Bethpage. The company donated the land that became Bethpage Community Park to the town in 1962. The park's ballfield section has been closed to the public since May 2002 following the discovery of toxic chemicals there.

Matthew Prewitt, an attorney representing the town in its lawsuit, said in a June 5 filing that the documents are likely to show “extensive discussion and evidence regarding Grumman’s generation and disposal of toxic wastes contaminating the park.”

Prewitt had accused Northrop Grumman of effectively arguing that the company "and its insurers somehow have the right to litigate in federal court their coverage dispute under the cloak of secrecy." 

The documents under seal, Prewitt wrote, have been “hidden from public view on a matter of substantial public concern – the extensive toxic contamination of the Town’s Bethpage Community Park.”

Lawyers for the company said the documents were irrelevant to determining issues central to ongoing lawsuits, including the cost of the overall cleanup.

On June 9, U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield partially granted the town's request to unseal the filings. The judge allowed Northrop Grumman to object to the release of specific documents or request redactions.

The company's lawyers said town officials had in their possession at least some documents they requested. In a filing after the judge's ruling, attorneys for Northrop Grumman said the company "does not oppose the Town having access to documents concerning the historical use and disposal of chemicals" at the park. 

Ongoing lawsuits

Oyster Bay and Northrop Grumman remain locked in disputes over other issues in federal court. The town sought the release of other documents related to the company's past practices, including decades-old chemical purchase orders.

This past spring, Northrop Grumman contractors sampled the soil at the park's ballfield area to determine the extent of contamination at the park. Northrop Grumman and Oyster Bay have to agree on a plan to remove polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at the property. That plan requires sign-off from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In May, a federal court judge allowed parts of Oyster Bay’s case against Northrop Grumman to continue, Newsday reported.

In spring 2024, contractors for Northrop Grumman discovered 22 concrete-encased chemical drums buried under the soil in the sectioned-off area of the park. The drums didn’t leak, officials said, and contained a concoction of chemicals similar to toxins contained in the surrounding soil.

The new agreement between Oyster Bay and Northrop Grumman doesn't necessarily mean the cleanup will be accelerated, said James Rigano, a Melville-based attorney who previously represented neighbors who sued over the larger Bethpage plume.

"It's still going to be up to the DEC," Rigano said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ