By Doug La Rocque
“When we add these sites to the Superfund National Priorities List, we ensure they are cleaned up for the benefit of the community.” It was with these words Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday, July 31, the plant at 14 McCaffrey Street would be among several around the nation added to the list. “When we clean up these sites, we make communities healthier places to live and clear the way for development and increased economic activity.”
The site was placed on the New York State Superfund list in January of 2016. In the spring of that year, the EPA installed monitoring wells to sample groundwater at and around the Saint-Gobain site, as well as sampling the Village’s water supply and collecting soil samples at the McCaffrey Street site, Village ballfields and recreational areas. Saint-Gobain’s Liberty Street site as well as the former Oak Materials site on Lyman St were added to the NYS Superfund list back on July 13.
Village of Hoosick Falls Mayor Rob Allen tells The Eastwick Press he is glad to see it happen. “We need all hands on deck when it comes to the investigation and subsequent remediation.” He added that Village officials met with the EPA last week, and described their responses to the Village’s questions as “very candid.” Mayor Allen also hopes this will help turn the corner from studying the scope of the contamination to beginning to remediate the problem. When it comes to PFOA and other similar chemicals, Allen fears this might be only the beginning, with many other sites of contamination around the country yet to be discovered. PFOA belongs to a group of chemicals used to make household and commercial products that resist heat and certain chemical reactions, and were often used in the manufacturing of non-stick pots and pans, stain-resistant carpeting and water-resistant outerwear.
Hoosick Town Supervisor Mark Surdam hopes the listing will help make more sources of funding available for the Town and the Village to deal with the problem. New York’s Senator Charles Schumer jointly announced the EPA’s decision while in Albany on Monday. In a release from his office, the US Senate’s Minority Leader said, “Saint-Gobain and Honeywell are now required to spend whatever it takes to restore Hoosick Falls’ water supply and help all the people who were hurt.”
Speaking for County Executive Kathy Jimino, who was out of town, Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer said, “I am hopeful the Federal Superfund designation will help bring about the full cleanup of the pollution, ensuring the health and safety that the current and future generations of these communities certainly deserve. The residents in this area have been through trying times and hopefully this will help to rectify the situation.” Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin told The Eastwick Press he is “proud of Hoosick Falls’ resilience amidst the water crisis.” McLaughlin, who represents Hoosick Falls as part of the 107th Assembly District, said, “together we have fought for answers and pushed for solutions to keep Hoosick Falls healthy and safe from the threat of water contamination. It is my hope that the EPA’s listing will give them a boost toward a comprehensive resolution of these issues that have plagued the community for two years.”
The Eastwick Press also reached out to Saint-Gobain for its reaction to the announcement. Its Director of Communications, Dina Pokedoff, sent the following statement: “as we have said since we first learned of the presence of PFOA in Hoosick Falls, our top priority has been, and continues to be, providing potable water to the residents, which was memorialized in the Joint Consent Order signed in May of 2016 by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell.” The statement also said, “this includes providing and funding the bottled water program, the granular activated carbon filter system placed on the Village of Hoosick Falls municipal water supply and point of entry filter systems” at the homes of residents affected by the contamination but not served by the Village’s water supply.
PFOA was first discovered in the municipal water system by village resident Michael Hickey two years ago, who sent water samples to Canadian laboratories whose tests confirmed his speculations. In its release, the EPA labels PFOA as “persistent in the environment” and said it “can pose adverse effects to human health and the environment.” Some of the health impacts include liver damage and increased rates of certain cancers.