Public Comment Opens On Grumman Plume Recovery Plan

BETHAPGE, NY — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that it is opening a public comment period on the proposed consent decree between itself and Northrop Grumman to clean the Bethpage groundwater contamination plume.

Under the decree, Northrop Grumman will drill and operate wells to contain the spread of contamination and clean the affected groundwater. The company will also pay more than $60 million to the DEC and affected water districts. It also gives water districts the ability to bring additional claims to collect future damages from Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy.

The public to review and comment on the consent decree until Oct. 22. It can be viewed by clicking here. The public can submit comments by mail to Andrew Guglielmi, Office of General Counsel, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233, or by email to andrew.guglielmi@dec.ny.gov.

"Today's announcement advances DEC’s ongoing efforts to hold these polluters accountable, contain the Navy-Grumman plume, and help make this community whole," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. "Since last year, the U.S. Navy and Northrup Grumman have undertaken mitigation measures detailed in the consent decree, expediting the cleanup of the plume, and providing additional protections to nearby public water supply wells. In addition, the responsible parties have agreed to carefully monitor these efforts to make sure the plume is contained and ensure the continued, long-term effectiveness of the state’s cleanup plan.”

Although the consent decree has yet to be fully ratified, Northrop Grumman and the Navy already began mitigation efforts on the contamination plume in December.

Under the decree, Northrop Grumman will be installing a network of extraction wells to hydraulically contain and remediate the eastern half of the groundwater plume that primarily originated from an area referred to as the former Grumman Settling Ponds. Northrop Grumman also agreed to a settlement totaling more than $100 million in cash payments and actions to advance clean up, water supply and aquifer protection projects in the area.

In December, Northrop Grumman committed to expediting certain work in advance of the finalization of the consent decree. The DEC approved Grumman’s initial work plan in July, including design investigation, plans for drilling and installing monitoring wells to support the containment wells in the east-central portion of the plume. Work to install these wells will begin this fall.

Northrop Grumman is currently installing underground conveyance piping and started site preparation for construction of a water treatment plant, as agreed to in a prior commitment to remediate the site.

In addition, the Navy, after negotiations with the DEC, will implement elements of the remedy in areas of the plume it is responsible for cleaning up. These actions are designed to address the western half of the plume.

In April 2021, the Navy began work to install recovery wells at four locations along the leading edge of the plume and two recovery wells in the plume's interior. To further expedite cleanup of the area, the Navy is seeking access from Nassau County and designing an interim groundwater extraction system utilizing an existing recovery well. The DEC approved the plan to design and construct this interim groundwater extraction and treatment system earlier this year, and the system is expected to be operating later in 2021.