Contaminants

Navy Nudged: Local Officials Urge Feds to Clean Up Calverton Contamination

Navy Nudged: Local Officials Urge Feds to Clean Up Calverton Contamination

Local officials, advocates and residents are renewing calls for the U.S. Navy to clean up toxins used at the former Calverton-based Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant that are polluting local waters.

Suffolk, advocates urge Superfund status for former Grumman plant in Calverton

Suffolk, advocates urge Superfund status for former Grumman plant in Calverton

New maps released by the U.S. Navy show forever chemicals are heading straight for the Peconic River from the former Grumman plant in Calverton, prompting calls from county officials to declare the property a Superfund site to accelerate cleanup efforts.

Legislative Leaders Announce Bills to Protect New Yorkers from Exposure to Dangerous PFAS

Legislative Leaders Announce Bills to Protect New Yorkers from Exposure to Dangerous PFAS

PFAS-Free NY campaign launches 2025 legislative action agenda, website.

ALBANY, NY —  Legislators today announced the bills they are sponsoring to protect New Yorkers from exposure to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) through everyday household items such as textiles, dental floss, cleaning products, cookware, children’s products, cosmetics, and menstrual products. The bills also aim to address PFAS in the water and air. Additionally, the PFAS-Free NY campaign announc

Navy will test private drinking water wells near the former Grumman plant in Calverton for PFAS

Navy will test private drinking water wells near the former Grumman plant in Calverton for PFAS

The U.S. Navy has agreed to test private drinking water wells near the former Grumman facility in Calverton for PFAS.

Navy representatives will be on hand at an open house in Riverhead on Wednesday evening, Jan. 22 to discuss the sampling and schedule appointments with property owners. 

Senator Harckham, Assemblymember Otis, and Advocates Call on Governor Hochul to Protect Clean Water in State Budget

Senator Harckham, Assemblymember Otis, and Advocates Call on Governor Hochul to Protect Clean Water in State Budget

New York State Senator Peter Harckham and State Assemblymember Steve Otis joined labor unions, local leaders, and environmental organizations at the Ossining Water Treatment Plan today to urge Governor Hochul to continue New York’s commitment to clean water programs in the upcoming state budget. Attendees, including members of the New York Clean Water Coalition, called on the Governor to invest $600 million in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in her executive budget proposal for FY2025-2026.

Southampton's proposal to close sand mines near homes divides town

Southampton's proposal to close sand mines near homes divides town

Southampton Town has unveiled a new plan to end sand mining in residential areas, sparking fierce debate among environmentalists and tradespeople over a lucrative industry that plays a key role in the region's economy.

Rain garden at Huntington Beach helps divert pollutants from stormwater

Rain garden at Huntington Beach helps divert pollutants from stormwater

A rain garden designed to keep Huntington Harbor free of pollutants from stormwater runoff has been installed at a known flooding area near Gold Star Battalion Beach.

DEC adopts final rules limiting 1,4 dioxane in consumer products

DEC adopts final rules limiting 1,4 dioxane in consumer products

Regulations limiting the amount of the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane in consumer products in New York State were adopted in final form by the State Department of Environmental Conservation last month.

Sands casino: Plan could draw traffic and water quality worries, stakeholders say

Sands casino: Plan could draw traffic and water quality worries, stakeholders say

A $6 billion casino-resort at the site of the Nassau Coliseum would likely impact water usage, increase vehicular traffic and generate more solid waste, among other environmental impacts, speakers told county legislators Monday night, kicking off a lengthy review of the bid by Las Vegas Sands. 

Supporters said they believed Sands would successfully mitigate any concerns while opponents deemed the adverse effects on the Uniondale property would be reasons to deny the Nevada-based company the right to build. 

Dozens of Manorville homes will be connected to public water in $11 million project

Dozens of Manorville homes will be connected to public water in $11 million project

Soon after Ron Martz built his home on River Road in Manorville in 1993, tests of his private well water revealed high levels of iron.

Riverhead Town officials rejected his requests to connect to public water, he said. "We were told, ‘You will never get public water here,' " Martz, 71, recalled in a recent interview. "Never."

Long Island water quality continues to improve. Here's what a new report says.

Long Island water quality continues to improve. Here's what a new report says.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- A new report released on Thursday says drinking water is slowly getting safer on Long Island.

The findings credit stringent state and federal guidelines and mandatory chemical filtering from water suppliers. As CBS News New York's Jennifer McLogan reports, although multiple water districts exceed limits, there is overall growing improvement.

Long Island water quality improves as toxic chemical levels decline: report

Long Island water quality improves as toxic chemical levels decline: report

Long Island water shows decline in toxic chemicals

Despite concerns about Long Island’s drinking water, a Citizens Campaign for the Environment report shows levels of two toxic chemicals have decreased since the nonprofit's 2016 analysis. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg breaks down the findings and if residents should be concerned.

Riverhead officials told Manorville residents they’d never have public water. It took a decade, but yesterday, residents proved them wrong.

Riverhead officials told Manorville residents they’d never have public water. It took a decade, but yesterday, residents proved them wrong.

It was a sight to behold. And one that was a long time coming.

Suffolk County Water Authority contractors who are installing mains that will carry clean drinking water to homes in a remote section of Manorville crossed into Riverhead Town from Brookhaven yesterday.

Four residents who were instrumental in the years-long fight for access to public water gathered midday on Wading River Manor Road and River Road to witness what was for them a momentous occasion.

Manorville Water Project Hits Next Phase

Manorville Water Project Hits Next Phase

The last batch of homes with private wells believed to be polluted by subterranean toxins are expected to soon be connected to the Suffolk County Water Authority system, officials said.

Suffolk County Water Authority breaks ground on water main extension

Suffolk County Water Authority breaks ground on water main extension

The Suffolk County Water Authority began work Monday on a major water main extension to bring public water to 64 homes in the Riverhead Town sections of Manorville and Calverton, taking them off private wells that have been shown to be contaminated by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. 

Water quality advocates pushing Navy to test for chemical drums at former Grumman site

Water quality advocates pushing Navy to test for chemical drums at former Grumman site

Water quality advocates in Calverton, prompted by recent discoveries of chemical drums at Bethpage Community Park, are calling on the U.S. Navy to investigate whether similar barrels also are buried in the hamlet, where Northrop Grumman once operated an aerospace facility.

Fire Island sewage study addresses nitrogen pollution, recommends solutions

Fire Island sewage study addresses nitrogen pollution, recommends solutions

A groundbreaking new study on sewage solutions for Fire Island recommends piping wastewater to Long Island among potential initiatives to address nitrogen pollution in the Great South Bay.

Brookhaven to receive $1M to end lawsuit filed over ash dumped at town landfill

Brookhaven to receive $1M to end lawsuit filed over ash dumped at town landfill

Waste incinerator Covanta would pay Brookhaven $1 million to settle a whistleblower’s lawsuit alleging the company trucked hazardous ash to the town landfill, a proposed deal the whistleblower blasted as “paltry” and community advocates called “shortsighted.”

HAMPTON BAYS CLEANUP HIGHLIGHTS COMPLEXITY OF PFAS REMEDIATION

HAMPTON BAYS CLEANUP HIGHLIGHTS COMPLEXITY OF PFAS REMEDIATION

As communities across the country decide how they will remove perfluorinated compounds from drinking water and contaminated soils, a cleanup surrounding the Hampton Bays Fire Department headquarters on Montauk Highway highlights the complex layers of bureaucracy underlying the removal of so-called “forever chemicals.”