The Speed Up the Cleanup campaign that Riverkeeper and local partners launched in October has gained traction, with Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and U.S. Congressional Representative Pat Ryan supporting the call to expedite the cleanup of toxic PFAS chemicals at Stewart Air National Guard Base, and with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation starting the process to update key permits.

Riverkeeper, Newburgh Clean Water Project, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, and other local partners are advocating to Speed Up the Cleanup at Stewart Air National Guard Base, where a series of investigations into the PFAS pollution have been ongoing since New York State declared it a Superfund site in 2016.

PFAS (per- and poly-alkyl substances) are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally. PFAS have been widely used for decades in many products – including firefighting foams used at the Stewart Air National Guard Base and New York Stewart International Airport – despite chemical manufacturers being aware of their hazards. Exposure to even very low levels are associated with an increased risk of illnesses ranging from weakened response to vaccines, to cancer.

Drinking water sources, waterways, and fish have been contaminated by PFAS contamination found at the facilities. The City of Newburgh and the Town of New Windsor are relying on alternate water sources, and New York State has installed filters at both public and private water sources. A filter at Stewart Air National Guard Base removes PFAS from discharges only about half the time, in dry weather conditions. These filters aren’t a complete solution.

It could take several more years before a comprehensive cleanup plan is implemented. In the meantime, the Speed Up the Cleanup campaign calls on the Air National Guard to commit to “interim remedial actions,” near-term interventions designed to stop the ongoing pollution of downstream waters by PFAS from the base. The Department of Defense issued guidance to sites like Stewart in July, to take such interim remedial actions “as expeditiously as possible.”

On November 15, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and U.S. Rep. Ryan sent a letter to the National Guard Bureau, with a message that strongly endorsed the goals of the Speed Up the Cleanup campaign, urging action on two high-priority interim remedial actions that would prevent PFAS pollution from leaving the base and entering local waterways. Newburgh’s federal representatives have also supported funding that will cover these types of cleanup actions at military sites nationwide.

On November 6, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) started the process to update pollution discharge permits for Stewart Air National Guard Base and New York Stewart International Airport, requiring both facilities to test for PFAS. Riverkeeper and the City of Newburgh had called for DEC to update State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits for the facilities, applying the discharge limits DEC adopted earlier this year for two regulated PFAS. Though permitting itself is a long process, it provides the state with leverage to push for actions that reduce pollution in the space of months, rather than years.

Whether through the remedial process or pollution discharge permitting, we aim to see the elimination of PFAS pollution originating from the Stewart Air National Guard Base and New York Stewart International Airport.

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