Letter to Secretary Wilson - 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

Letter

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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