Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and the Town Board today approved an agreement with the Northrop Grumman Corporation to open the path for pipes from groundwater recovery wells at a hotspot of environmental contamination, known as RW-21, to a treatment plant on the Grumman property utilizing Town roadways.
Supervisor Saladino stated, “Environmental concerns have been going on for too long under the ground in our town. Thanks to years of collaboration between Federal, State and Town governments – along with the Bethpage Water District and surrounding districts – we have succeeded in forcing Grumman and the Navy to pay for these cleanups and follow the remediation plans designed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. We now take another important step forward toward remediating the plume by opening the path for pipes that will connect a hotspot of contamination to a treatment plant on the Grumman property.”
The recent Town Board approval of a site access agreement for RW-21 allows work to proceed that includes conveyance pipes and instrumentation conduits which will be installed to ultimately link existing recovery wells to the future treatment plant which will be built on Grumman property. The piping installation commenced in 2020 with near 5,000 feet of pipes currently installed, and this most recent portion of the project will complete the necessary piping connections for system operation. This remedial system is funded by Grumman and constructed under the oversight of the Town and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). At the Town’s direction, Grumman will be required to conduct continued community outreach to keep local residents apprised of the construction progress.
“While Grumman works to complete the balance of the pipeline installation and the treatment plant, the Town will continue to work with local water districts and the State Department of Environmental Conservation to oversee the project and protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents,” added Supervisor Saladino.
Over the past year, the Town of Oyster Bay has overseen several construction projects and held regular meetings with Grumman and the Navy to monitor progress and review future work. The current remediation plan was designed after State legislation authored by then-State Assemblyman Joseph Saladino proved that hydraulic containment would be most effective in eradicating the plume. Grumman plans for construction of the hydraulic containment treatment plant – which will be located on the Grumman property – are currently being reviewed by the Town of Hempstead. Between final pipeline installation and treatment plant construction, the remedial system is anticipated to be in full operation in summer of 2022.