![]() Failing to do so will result in a flawed prioritization that would jeopardize the effectiveness of remediation at Stewart. These receptors, and the contamination pathways that impact them, must be thoroughly evaluated in the RRSE. ![]() Contaminated fish in Silver Stream and Moodna Creek pose a risk to subsistence anglers, as well as to the ecosystem-risks the RRSE ignores. These include the Kroll well, which may be impacted by groundwater from the base, and the Butterhill wells, which are impacted by PFAS in Moodna Creek. The RRSE completely fails to mention wells serving the public drinking water supply for the Town of New Windsor, which also have been contaminated with PFAS, requiring filtration. The RRSE does not evaluate all pathways or receptors. The RRSE for Stewart has several flaws that could de-prioritize cleanup activities for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) at potential release locations (PRLs) identified in the RRSE. The RRSE is used by the Department of Defense to prioritize cleanup of the "worst first," ensuring that contamination posing the greatest risks is remediated first. This contamination has had significant public health, economic, ecological and social effects on Newburgh, New Windsor and neighboring communities. Stewart Air National Guard Base, the primary source of PFAS affecting drinking water sources and waterways in the Newburgh area, is undergoing a RRSE, which will be used to prioritize remediation activities at military sites nationwide, and which may also influence which remedial activities are prioritized at Stewart. I am writing with concerns about the Relative Risk Site Evaluation (RRSE) for Stewart Air National Guard Base (Stewart). The RRSE is meant to prioritize cleanup of the “worst first.” At Stewart Air National Guard Base, too, multiple sites of contamination are identified. military is the world’s largest polluter, and it is responsible for causing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination at hundreds of sites in the U.S., primarily due to its use of firefighting foams. PFAS has contaminated Washington Lake, public and private wells in the Town of New Windsor, and both the water and fish in Silver Stream and Moodna Creek. Five years after the Department of Defense’s investigation began, PFAS continues to flow off the base. Stewart Air National Guard Base, the primary source of PFAS affecting Newburgh’s Washington Lake reservoir, is undergoing a Relative Risk Site Evaluation (RRSE), which is used to prioritize remediation actions. It has been five years since the City of Newburgh stopped using Washington Lake due to PFAS contamination, and switched to its backup reservoir, Browns Pond, and New York City’s Catskill Aqueduct as its sources of drinking water. Take Action: Make PFAS cleanup in Newburgh a priority
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