Read the full article by Mike Randall (Times Herald-Record)
“Stewart Air National Guard Base has been accepted into the well-funded Defense Environmental Restoration Program, the region’s federal representatives said in a joint announcement Tuesday.
That will allow funding for a remedial investigation — the next step in getting PFAS cleaned up at the base and in surrounding communities, senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said.
The base previously was prevented from accessing the program, known by the acronym DERP.
PFAS are a group of toxic chemicals found in products such as the firefighting foam used at the airport. The chemical, invented in the 1940s, has seeped into water supplies and is suspected of causing cancer, low birth weight and other health problems.
High levels of PFAS were found in Washington Lake, the city of Newburgh’s former primary drinking water supply, in 2016. The lake is due east of the airport, which, along with the base, is located in both the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor…”