Navy representatives and their consultants will present updates to the investigation into PFAS chemicals and the monitoring of other volatile organic compounds in wells surrounding the former Grumman site at the next meeting of the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board, Wednesday, April 19. They will also take questions from the public.
The meeting will take place starting at 6:15 p.m. at the Manorville firehouse, 14 Silas Carter Road, Manorville 11949.
The RAB, which meets semiannually, was established in 1997 to facilitate communication between the community and the U.S. Navy regarding the cleanup and restoration of the 2,900-acre site in Calverton owned by the Navy until 1998 and leased to Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman Aerospace) to manufacture and test military aircraft and equipment, and also conduct firefighting training activities, from the 1950s until 1994.
PFAS chemicals, which environmental and health agencies say cause cancers and other adverse health effects, were detected in groundwater at the former Northrop Grumman site in Calverton as early as 2016 and has been migrating off-site, apparently impacting private drinking water wells south and southeast of the former Naval manufacturing facility, which was shut down in 1994.
The RAB meeting comes on the heels of an informational meeting last month at the firehouse where Suffolk County Water Authority officials gave an update on the joint project with Riverhead Town to bring public water to homes in the Manorville hamlet, 64 of which are in the southwest corner of Riverhead Town. Construction on the Riverhead side of the project — which is located far from existing public water infrastructure — could start by the end of the year.
A funding gap for the Manorville project still remains, but has inched closer to closing recently. The town received $3.8 million for the Manorville project and $1.2 million for a separate water district extension project in Calverton in March.
Manorville residents have said their private drinking water wells were polluted with toxic chemicals caused by activity at the former Grumman facility. The Navy has denied responsibility for off-site groundwater pollution, though it has acknowledged on-site groundwater and soil contamination by a variety of toxic substances.
The meeting is also accessible by phone and online through the teleconferencing app Microsoft Teams.
By Internet: https://tinyurl.com/APR19RAB
Meeting ID: 299 322 272 367
Passcode: d7SkwN
Telephone: +1 332-249-0724
Phone Conference ID: 152 337 094#
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