Testing, Flushing, And Filter Installation Continue At A Furious Pace
by Deb Alter
Governor Cuomo’s office has decided that the agreement between the Village, Saint-Gobain, and Honeywell, will be achieved via a consent order from the State, Mayor David Borge announced at the Tuesday, March 8 Village Board Meeting. The consent order will encompass the same terms that the Village had negotiated directly with the companies.
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This consent order is governed by state laws. It is generally an agreement worked out between the parties involved in negotiations. The consent agreement will outline the terms and conditions that they have negotiated and agreed upon. It has the same effect as a court order and can be enforced by the court if anyone does not comply with the orders. Although the agreement occurs outside of court, it is still sanctioned and approved by the court.
The consent agreement is between New York State and the two companies, but the Village will have input into the agreement.
Everything the Village has been negotiating over the last months, both the initial agreements and some more far-reaching ones, will be included in the consent agreement. It includes Saint-Gobain and Honeywell paying for the bottled water, the temporary and full-capacity (long-term) filtration systems and everything related to it. The consent agreement also covers all of the Village’s expenses related to the PFOA contamination, including, but not limited to, engineering, legal, and communications fees, stand alone systems in the Village (there are several, including The Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, The Danforth, Saint Mary’s Academy, Dr. Bobinski’s Dental Office, and the Polish Hall, among others), and filtration systems on private wells in the Town. As the Governor has said previously, the State is committed to finding a potential new water source if it is a feasible remedy for clean water for the Village.
A “Command Center” for all of the governmental agencies involved in the clean-up effort has been set up at the former Haynes Ford site on Route 7, to coordinate operations and to keep the work moving quickly. Dozens of State personnel and contractors meet there every morning before fanning out to do testing, flushing, and installation of filters.
Over 300 private wells have been tested. Of those, 123 had less than 2 ppt, 105 had between 2 and 50 ppt, 21 had between 50 and 100 ppt, and 49 had 100 ppt or more. DEC has had over 500 requests for carbon filtration systems and has done 400 or so pre-evaluations in preparation for installing filters, over half of them in the past week. Over 200 filtration systems have been installed, and a large group of installers continues to be dispatched from the new Command Center every day.
The Hoosick Falls Highway, Water, and Waste Water Treatment Departments, as well as MRB (the Village’s engineering consultants) have worked closely with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the NY Rural Water Association to flush the pipes. The Police and Fire Departments also pitched in. As of Monday, March 8, the various agencies and personnel involved were working to finish the flushing process in the Clay Hill area and had completed flushing the pipes in all of the other “zones.” The Mayor said that crews have been working seven days straight and had finished the job in 12 days, two days ahead of schedule. Instructions on how to flush the pipes in their homes have been delivered door-to-door to every resident, and that part of the flushing process should be completed by now.
The water will be tested in a minimum of 25 homes in various parts of the Village. If an individual would like to be added to that list, they should speak to the Department of Health representatives in the HAYC3 Armory on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturday mornings.
The Village Board is exploring ways to give water customers a rebate or credit to compensate them for the water used in the home-flushing process. A subcommittee will be formed to look at the numbers and create a fair and effective way to do this.
The state-of-the-art temporary GAC system has been in place for a couple of weeks and is pumping clean water through the Village pipes. Sample testing will begin shortly, and as soon as the NYSDOH sees test results showing the water to be safe to drink, Hoosick Falls residents will be given the go-ahead to drink the water. The full-capacity system will be installed by October 2016 or sooner, and the process for getting it up and running should be even faster than the temporary system as the pipes have already been flushed, and the procedure for getting the temporary system online will serve as a guide.
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is continuing to work on the plan for safely draining the Town Pool as well as private ones and hot tubs.
Going forward, HACA will be coordinating bottled water deliveries to those who need the service. Please contact the Village Clerk during Village office hours at 518-686-7072, or the Police Department for after-hours emergencies at 518-686-7651 if you need your water delivered.
Price Chopper has generously donated a huge load of both individual and two-and-a-half gallon bottles of water to the Village. Half of it will go to The Health Center and The Danforth, and the other half is being stored at the HAYC3 Armory for now. Borge said that at least a half-dozen communities have offered to donate water as well.
“Things are happening quickly, and with the help of the Governor and the State, our water problem is being addressed and remediated faster than anyone thought possible. That means that everyone involved, state and federal agencies, government representatives at every level, will be making sure that we get it done right,” said Borge.[/private]