Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have announced the filing of a consent decree with the court that formally requires Northrop Grumman to advance a comprehensive plan to contain and clean up the groundwater plume associated with the Northrop Grumman Bethpage Facility and Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant sites in Bethpage. The full containment of this groundwater plume will prevent the further spread of contamination to water supplies in neighboring communities and provide peace of mind to local residents.
"Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, clean water, and we will continue to advance bold, aggressive efforts to protect our environment and ensure it is free of contamination," Governor Hochul said. "With this historic agreement, we are delivering justice to Long Island communities that for too long have been negatively impacted by the groundwater plume, while holding polluters accountable for their actions. Ensuring the health and safety of our communities is among our highest priorities in this state, and we will continue to make sure there is a reliable, clean water source for all New Yorkers for generations to come."
Attorney General Letitia James said, "For decades, Northrop Grumman knew its hazardous waste disposal sites leaked toxic substances into the only source of drinking water on Long Island, but for decades, Northrop Grumman denied responsibility. Long Islanders have paid the price for the company's negligence but today, we're finally forcing Grumman to address its environmental abuse by paying the municipalities and the state that had to clean up its mess. In the face the Supreme Court's irresponsible decision to restrict the EPA's ability to regulate companies for their dirty emissions, I am more committed than ever to mitigating the damage done by corporations like Northrop Grumman. I will continue to work with my partners in government to ensure that no one gets away with degrading our environment, our natural resources, and our children's futures."
"This consent decree is a necessary measure to ensure the safety of our environment and drinking water in the area of the Northrop Grumman facility," said Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. "It is incumbent upon us to ensure that our children will have a safe environment in which to grow and thrive and this measure will bring that comfort and peace of mind to the Bethpage community."
The final decree reflects the agreement between New York State and Northrop Grumman memorializing the scope of Grumman's cleanup and resolving reimbursement of State costs and Northrop Grumman's liability for Natural Resource Damages (NRD). The agreement also provides for a more robust citizen participation program, including funding by Grumman for a citizen participation working group that will enable all interested stakeholders to have better access to information and provide further input about the company's cleanup as overseen by DEC. For the first time the decree includes a schedule, which ends five years from the effective date of the decree once enacted by the court and requires Grumman to complete all construction documented in the agreement. It also reflects input received from communities during a public comment period on the draft consent decree by directing additional NRD payments by Northrop Grumman to the affected water districts and explicitly preserving the town of Oyster Bay's right to bring claims against the responsible parties.
As announced previously, NorthropGrumman agreed toaNRD settlement valued at $104.4 million that will be used to advance cleanup, public water supply, and aquifer protection projects associated with the plume. A total of $63.5 million in payments is included in the NRD, consisting of $29 million dedicated to the Bethpage Water District, $12.5 million dedicated to the South Farmingdale Water District, and $22 million dedicated to New York State for use on restoration projects. As part of the Consent Decree, Northrop Grumman was credited for $40.9 million for additional cleanup to be undertaken per the settlement agreement.
The consent decree commits Northrop Grumman to containing the eastern and southern edges of the plume, with enhanced contaminant removal in the central portion of the plume. Specifically, Northrop Grumman is designing and drilling containment wells in the east-central and southeast area of the plume to prevent further migration in that area and provide additional protection to nearby public water supply wells. These wells, along with other actions required under the consent decree, will help clean-up volatile organic compounds and hazardous substances released by these facilities, which include Trichloroethylene and 1,4-Dioxane.
Expedited work advanced by the finalization of the Consent Decree includes Northrop Grumman's launch of a preliminary investigation of the southeast quadrant of the plume. This investigation includes drilling of borings this summer to expedite installation of extraction wells.
In addition, the U.S. Navy, after negotiations with DEC, will implement elements of the comprehensive remedy in areas of the plume the Navy is responsible for cleaning up. These actions are specifically designed to address the western half of the Navy-Grumman plume. The U.S. Navy will perform its obligations in accordance with an Explanation of Significant Differences, which was finalized in September 2021.
Together, these actions and the Navy's work in the interior and margins of the plume will achieve containment and expedite cleanup of the plume. Furthermore, all parties have agreed to carefully monitor containment and movement of the plume to ensure the continued effectiveness of the remedy and to make any adjustments,within the scope of the agreements, necessary to achieve the objectives of the cleanup plan.
Since 2020, the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman have already made significant progress in implementing the required remedy, including starting installation of a network of extraction wells to hydraulically contain and remediate the contaminated plume. For instance, the Navy began construction of a state-of-the-art groundwater treatment plant that is expected to begin operating later this year, installed four of the required six extraction wells, began installing conveyance piping from extraction wells to the treatment plant, and rehabilitated two recharge basins for managing the treated water, among other ongoing work.
As part of a groundwater extraction and treatment system to address contamination south of the Bethpage Community Park, Grumman also began construction of a new groundwater treatment plant that is expected to begin operating by the end of summer 2022, completed the installation of 11,000 feet of conveyance piping, and began outfitting three extraction wells. Both Northrop Grumman and the Navy also continue to operate three existing groundwater extraction and treatment systems to effectively remove contamination from Long Island's sole source aquifer (greater than 200,000 pounds since the first system came on-line in 1998). Work on the remaining requirements is ongoing and will be closely overseen by DEC.
In addition to the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman's actions to implement the cleanup, New York State is pursuing additional potentially responsible parties to undertake needed efforts in areas that are not currently attributable to the U.S. Navy and Grumman. If DEC is unable to identify potential responsible parties to remediate these areas, New York State will undertake any necessary cleanup.
Additional information about the Navy-Grumman cleanup can be found here.