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."
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.
Karen Notaro can now drink water from the faucets of her Manorville home without worry.
Notaro had turned to filters and bottled water because her home’s private well had tested positive for PFAS, chemicals the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said are potentially carcinogenic.
ALBANY, NY — Today legislators and the PFAS-Free New York coalition gathered in Albany to call for urgent action to pass package of bills for the 2024 legislative session that would curb PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in New York State. The bills call for eliminating PFAS in key consumer and household products (A3556A/S5648-A), in personal care and cosmetic products (A6969/S4265), and in menstrual products (A5990/S3529); as well as a bill to track the levels of PFAS in effluent released into waterways (A3296A/S227-B).
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is negotiating an agreement with the Town of Islip for cleanup at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, which was declared a state Superfund site in February, both the DEC and the town told Newsday.
Nearly half of the tap water in the U.S. is contaminated with toxic chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new study, and Long Island is no exception. The contaminants have been linked to weakened immune systems, cancer and other health problems.
For immediate release: March 14, 2023
Contact: Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director: 631-384-1378 (mobile), aesposito@citizenscampaign.org
EPA’s first new regulations on toxic chemicals in drinking water in 20 years addresses growing problem of “forever chemicals” in drinking water
CCE applauds EPA’s move to protect public health and clean drinking water, calls on NYS to follow EPA’s lead
Farmingdale, NY—Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new enforceable drinking water standards, known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for two PFAS chemicals (PFOA and PFOS), as well as a new hazard index for four additional PFAS chemicals (PFNA, PFBS, PFHxS, and GenX). The MCLs for PFOA and PFOS are proposed at 4 parts per trillion (ppt), which is significantly stronger than New York State’s existing MCLs of 10ppt for both PFOS and PFOA. This is a significantly low standard, crafted to protect public health.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in our environment or bodies. Exposure is linked to cancer, liver damage, thyroid issues, birth defects, kidney disease, decreased immunity and other serious health problems. Last year EPA put out non-enforceable health advisory guidelines for PFOA (.004 ppt) and PFOS (.02ppt). This was significantly lower than the previous health guideline of 70 ppt and signified that there is essentially no safe level of exposure to these chemicals. Today the EPA also proposed a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (a non-enforceable health advisory level) for PFOA and PFOS at zero, confirming that there is no safe level of exposure.
In September of 2022, the NYS Department of Health (DOH) issued a proposal to regulate an additional 23 PFAS chemicals in drinking water. The regulations have not been finalized. The regulations did not propose to adjust MCLs for PFOA and PFOS, despite the release of EPA’s health guidelines indicating that there is no safe level of exposure.
In response to EPA’s announcement, Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, issued the following statement:
“This is a historic victory for clean water and public health! This ruling will provide critical public health protection for every member of the public. We commend the EPA for following the science and proposing strong standards to protect our water and the public from dangerous “forever chemicals”. PFAS is group of highly toxic chemicals that tragically have become ubiquitous in our environment. Setting strong, enforceable drinking water standards is a needed step to remove this dangerous contaminant from drinking water across the nation.
New York will ultimately have to strengthen its existing MCLs for PFOA and PFOS to align with EPA’s new regulations. Given the science indicating that there is no safe level of exposure to these chemicals, we are urging Governor Hochul and the Department of Health not to wait and to adopt the stronger standards without delay. Furthermore, NYS should revisit and strengthen the proposed regulations on the additional 23 PFAS chemicals.
Thankfully, the state and federal governments have recently provided historic levels of funding to address PFAS in drinking water, with grants already being provided for needed treatment technology to many communities across New York State. There is no reason we can’t move forward with stronger standards in New York State now. The public needs and deserves clean water.”
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For additional information on PFAS: https://www.citizenscampaign.org/whats-new-at-cce/protect-drinking-water-from-dangerous-forever-chemicals
CCE compiled a map with Long Island levels of PFAS:
www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1RjZ2tybZV5hhTI4LTfmkbHDYrn20S48&usp=sharing
There are 13 ongoing water remediation projects for the Town of Hempstead’s Water Department including three related to water in East Meadow.
The East Meadow project includes wells 1 and 3 on Prospect Avenue West, wells 5 and 11 on Prospect Avenue East, and East Meadow Site II with wells 6 and 8.
The town’s water department pumps 18 million gallons of water each day to over 120,000 customers. The East Meadow Water District, within the town’s water department, serves 40,000 customers, including several schools, Nassau University Medical Center, and Eisenhower Park.
