by Deb Alter
Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Hoosick Falls on the morning of Sunday, March 13 for the first time since the water crisis began. He toured the water plant with local officials and then held a press conference at “Command Center” at the old Haynes Ford building.
Cuomo announced that preliminary test results of water coming out of the new carbon filtration system were coming back as “non-detect,” meaning the amount of PFOA in the water is too small to detect. “The good news is that the filters work,” he said. [private]
A very thorough testing program is planned, taking samples from all parts of the system, which is expected to be completed by March 21. Residents should continue to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until this testing program has been completed.
Cuomo said residents will be reimbursed for the cost of at least six months of the water that they have been unable to use. He said that it is adding insult to injury to have to pay for water they could not use and were inconvenienced by having to go to the store. The State Superfund will pay for the reimbursements and then will get the funds from Saint-Gobain and Honeywell International. The total amount of this rebate was estimated to be $240,000, according to the Governor.
Saint-Gobain will also be taking over the task of delivering bottled water to those who can’t get to Tops.
Cuomo said state agencies will be assisting The Village Water Department to explore the possibilities for securing a new, clean water source. He said the possibilities they will explore include increasing the capacity of the existing Well #3, which draws water with a lower level of PFOA, the Hoosic River, or getting water from a reservoir that is approximately twelve miles away. Governor Cuomo said he will be back when there is more information about the new water source, which he said, will take time. In the meantime, he called the clean-up an “all hands on deck” operation that involves engineers, scientists, financial people, the DEC and the DOH.
He complimented Mayor Borge, Supervisor Surdam and their teams. “It was a huge undertaking with a lot of moving parts. They did an extraordinary job,” he said, adding that “they really performed magnificently well.”
His message was, overall, positive. “Today is good news,” he said, “People should be pleased that they are getting what they have been asking for.”
The Industrial Legacy
He talked about how this situation is a product of what we did decades ago, when we had a manufacturing economy and we allowed indiscriminate waste disposal. “In retrospect, it was not a good idea,” he said. He continued, saying that Hoosick Falls is not unique, that PFOAs or other harmful chemicals will be found in other communities around New York and the country and that many, many communities around the country filter their water. Hoosick Falls is not unique in having to filter water, but it is the first for PFOAs. He also said that although Hoosick Falls’ water system will be fixed, he also said there are 80,000 unregulated chemicals in the world that may need to be regulated in the future.
With the Governor at the podium were Hoosick Falls Mayor Borge, Hoosick Town Supervisor Mark Surdam, State Senator Kathy Marchione, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Basil Seggos, Director of State Operations Jim Malatras and Commissioner of Health for New York State Dr. Howard Zucker.
Senator Marchione also complimented the local officials. The Mayor and the Supervisor have had a difficult time, but they have responded to the concerns of the citizens and worked well with the Governor, the DEC and the DOH, and the companies involved. She said it has been a difficult time for the community, but there’s been great progress. The tests came back non-detect!” She said, “No stone has been left unturned and we will keep turning stones over. It has been a long road and there is still more work to do.”
Supervisor Surdam said he was thankful that people were stepping up, and that the Governor has been helpful. He and the Mayor have “shared the concerns of the citizens, and feels that the State is really trying to help. He also sang the praises of the Hoosick community. He said, We are a great community, a small community. It’s safe, we have Town pool, ball fields, a golf course, and kids can ride their bikes in the Village without worry. We’re not closing up shop!”
Mayor Borge thanked the Governor, saying “he listened and responded; it’s been a coordinated effort with everyone trying to do the right thing.” He acknowledged that these have been emotionally hard times, but the water is getting fixed now, and with clean water, economic development will begin again.
Asked why he had not visited Hoosick Falls sooner, Governor Cuomo said “I have been involved since I heard about it. The real question is how can you fix it and who pays for it. The questions were not ‘on the ground’ issues. They were issues for engineers, scientists and financial people,’” he said, implying that his presence in Town would not have expedited the work – experts were needed and they are the ones who have been on site. In the past few months, the State declared the Saint-Gobain plant a State Superfund site, and has been offering well testing, filtration systems, and blood testing for free to anyone who wants them.
Testing Results
So far, 464 private wells have been tested. 199 of them came back with levels too low to detect, 164 had levels between 2 ppt and 50 ppt, 42 had levels of PFOA between 50 and 100 ppt, and 59 of the samples were found to have levels of 100 ppt or higher. About 600 people have asked to have filters installed at their residence, and so far 264 filters have been installed on private wells.
Requests for filters are still being received, and work continues to process those requests, put in more filters, and to check and troubleshoot the ones that have already been installed.
Scientifically-Based Drinking Water Standard
For PFOA Is Needed
Governor Cuomo criticized the U.S.EPA, saying that it was their job to determine what an acceptable number is. As of now, the EPA says 100 ppt for short term exposure and has no standard for long-term exposure. But some states have set much lower standards for drinking water – Vermont is 20 ppt and New Jersey is 40 ppt. To that end, he, along with the governors of Vermont and New Hampshire, has written to the EPA asking them to establish standards for both long and short-term PFOA exposure. Since it’s a health safety standard, it should be the same in every state. He said the EPA has the resources to determine what it should be. The EPA responded that they are working on it, and expect to put forth new standards for PFOA in the spring of 2016.
When asked why New York didn’t just pick the lowest number, he replied, “I don’t want artificially low standards. Because then you could have hundreds of communities installing very expensive filtration systems that don’t need it.”
He was confident that “this water problem will not affect the long-term quality of life in Hoosick Falls.”
The governor’s office said Cuomo met with about a dozen Hoosick Falls residents privately after the press conference. Penny Acree was one. Though she went into the meeting feeling somewhat negative, she later posted on her Facebook page, “Kudos to our Governor. A group of us were allowed in for a 30 minute question and answer session. I left believing he is sincere in supporting our community on this water issue.”[/private]