Editorial

The Air Force must be held accountable for Newburgh’s water

Posted 10/29/20

Senator Chuck Schumer described last week what might be the ultimate Catch-22 when it comes to remediation of the City of Newburgh’s tainted water supply.

As we all know, chemicals used in …

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Editorial

The Air Force must be held accountable for Newburgh’s water

Posted

Senator Chuck Schumer described last week what might be the ultimate Catch-22 when it comes to remediation of the City of Newburgh’s tainted water supply.

As we all know, chemicals used in the runway foam at the Stewart Air National Guard base found their way into the city reservoir, endangering the health of thousands of city residents and polluting its reservoir. There’s enough litigation to keep doctors and lawyers busy for years, and numerous studies to be weighed, but there’s at least one undeniable conclusion: the Department of Defense (DOD) is ultimately responsible. It operates the military base that caused the pollution and the health crisis, it should clean up its mess. Here, though, is the Catch-22:

- The Air Force caused the pollution to Washington Lake. It should clean it up.

- Because of the pollution, the city is no longer using Washington Lake, having switched to an alternate water source.

- Because the city is not currently using Washington Lake, its cleanup is no longer a priority for the Air Force, which no longer sees it as immediate health risk to the people of Newburgh.

In others words, bureaucratic bungling will continue to prevent Newburgh from using its longtime water source through no fault of our own. Schumer reports that he USAF selects priority cleanup sites based on the immediate health and safety risks impacting their surrounding communities and, therefore, provides preference to sites where contamination is impacting local drinking water sources. The city may be penalized and ultimately left out in the USAF’s next round of priority cleanup site selections, as it is no longer considered a drinking water source.

The city switched away from the lake immediately after the discovery of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the spring of 2016. Alternate sites like Browns Pond and the Catskill Aqueduct were only intended as stopgap measures. They were never meant to be a permanent solution.

“The bottom line is Washington Lake was and will be Newburgh’s drinking water source, and the United States Air Force can and must clean up the toxic PFAS mess they made in the lake and its tributaries with all due speed,” says Schumer. “Newburgh’s residents have been plagued for far too long by the toxic PFAS contamination of their drinking water, and they should not be punished for the swift, logical, and health conscientious decision to protect the wellbeing of their community. The Air Force must immediately remove this –and any-- roadblock that would prevent the continuation of the imperative cleanup efforts to restore Washington Lake and the safe, clean drinking water that Newburgh residents need and deserve. No one should fear that their health or that of their family is being damaged by the water they drink, which is why I am calling on the Air Force to immediately expedite the cleanup process, approve funding for a Remedial Investigation at Stewart ANGB, and allow the cleanup to move forward ASAP.”

We agree. It seems unfathomable that the city would be punished for acting swiftly in the best interest of its citizens, but that’s what is happening here.

It’s government bureaucracy at its worst.