High concentration of forever chemical found near East Hampton battery plant

New Suffolk County groundwater tests around a battery-energy storage plant in East Hampton have found the highest levels to date of a forever chemical linked to a toxic plume at the site, officials said.

The latest findings increase the overall profile of the plume beyond where Suffolk officials say they believed were its boundaries and have prompted the county to issue new tests, including of private wells to the south and west of the plant.

The findings come as county and local officials await a remediation plan from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the plant itself, and another in Montauk, have suspended operations.

One Suffolk test well to the south and west of the plant showed levels of the toxin, PRFrA at concentrations as high as 25,000 parts per billion, said Andy Rapiejko, associate hydrogeologist for the Suffolk Health Services Department. The state Health Department has established a screening level of 3 parts per billion. Suffolk previously registered top readings in excess of 1,700 parts per billion, Newsday has reported.

State well tests released in September showed PFPrA, a forever chemical preliminarily linked by the state DEC to a fire-extinguishment system at the site, at concentrations as high as 10,000 parts per billion.

After the contamination of four vital drinking water wells about 2,500 feet south of the plant was discovered, the Suffolk County Water Authority hut down two wells completely, and put another two on restricted status. The authority has said it has not found that specific toxin at any other water wells across its Suffolk territory. It is suing plant owners NextEra and National Grid in federal court. When it agreed to temporarily pause operations at the East Hampton and Montauk battery sites, NextEra said, "We remain committed to working with local and state officials."

Rapiejko emphasized that none of the private drinking water wells of households tested by Suffolk in the area thus far have exceeded standards set by the state.

Nevertheless, Suffolk County this week is expanding its testing of private drinking water wells in a large swath of East Hampton to the south and west of the site, where it suspects some 21 residents are still reliant on private drinking water. Suffolk is offering to test homes in that area for free, as it has other areas impacted by the plume.

Suffolk on Monday also reported higher-than-expected readings of the toxin thousands of feet to the southwest of the plant in an area that borders where authority first detected the toxin. 

"This [new test data] is troubling," said County Executive Ed Romaine in an interview. "We’re trying to resolve a problem that clearly is a threat to public health in this area, [but] the more we look the more we find ... This looks like it is a problem and it’s getting worse."

Romaine said Suffolk has shared its data with the DEC as the state agency finishes up its investigation and prepares a remediation plan that is due out soon. He said he wants the state in the interim to fund a conversion to public water for those on impacted private wells in the area.

The DEC, in a statement, said the latest Suffolk test results “suggest” some PFPrA contamination “may be present in groundwater to the southwest of the Bridgehampton Road well field.” It and Suffolk County are “reviewing the latest analytical data and are planning additional groundwater sampling to better understand the nature and extent of the contamination.”

The state agency said it “continues to be focused on identifying the source for the PFPrA contamination in groundwater and eliminating any public exposure to contamination.”

DEC said it was “always understood that additional sampling would potentially be required to fill in data gaps and to inform possible cleanup options.”

The state agency said it is continuing field work and reviewing existing data and “designing additional investigation efforts necessary to perform a cleanup and finalize a cleanup plan.” The company didn’t say when the plan would be finalized. DEC said it is also “in discussions with the responsible parties to pay for and undertake the remaining investigation work as well as to begin designing and implementing the cleanup.”

Romaine said the expansive profile of the new private-well testing was to make sure that no one is "drinking water that is contaminated." He added, "We’re not sure where the plume will wind up," pointing to concerns it could end up not just in ground and drinking water but surface water. The county has already tested ponds far to the south, including Georgica Pond, and detected elevated concentrations of other forever chemicals, but not PFPrA, said Rapiejko

Suffolk’s latest findings will help define the plume’s profile for the purpose of a future cleanup, which Suffolk said should include removal of contaminated soil and ground water.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.