County Coordinating with Town of Poestenkill, State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation to Continue Investigation of Emerging Contaminants
Rensselaer County will be expanding the number of private residential wells tested for PFAS in Poestenkill to gather more data in the coming weeks, County Executive Steve McLaughlin and members of the County Legislature announced today.
The County is working closely with the Town of Poestenkill and the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH) to advance this sampling effort to better understand the extent of any PFAS detections in private wells, evaluate potential sources of PFAS found in the area, and to keep residents informed throughout the process.
The expansion of testing to additional private residential wells comes as the county is conducting a second round of testing on residences in town after samples detected PFOA and PFOS at two residences. This expanded testing began following the discovery of PFOA at Algonquin School during state required testing of the school.
No new results from the testing now underway have yet been received, county officials noted. The expanded testing was closely coordinated with the State DEC and DOH and will be conducted by the county.
“We are seeking to do more testing, gather more data and do it more quickly. We want answers just as the residents want answers,” said McLaughlin.
“Rensselaer County has been working cooperatively and effectively with the state in responding to the PFOA issue in Poestenkill. This is a priority issue and we will continue to work to a resolution,” added McLaughlin.
Letters for the testing will be sent out beginning this week to residents in an expanded area surrounding Algonquin Middle School. This testing is voluntary and the county will announce the number of private wells being tested as responses are received from the residences targeted. .
“We called for expanded testing to ensure all is being done to address the needs of our resident in Poestenkill, and this is great news,” said Vice Chair Kelly Hoffman- North Greenbush.
“Expanding the testing area will help answer the questions many people have about their drinking water. We want to do what we can to remove uncertainty, and provide residents with honest answers and information,” said Legislator Leon Fiacco- North Greenbush.
“We are confident that expanding the testing area will help determine the source of the contamination, and allow us to come up with a solution for our residents,” said Legislator Rob Bayly- Poestenkill.
“We are very supportive of the County Executive and his team’s effort of expanding the range of testing for PFOS in Poestenkill. We are pleased to be working with New York State to do what we can to protect our residents,” said Legislator Tom Grant- East Greenbush.
“The town wants answers and we appreciate the county providing the resources to allow for more testing. We appreciate the support and the cooperation between the state, county and town and the efforts being made to resolve this important issue,” said Supervisor Keith Hammond.
“DEC and DOH continue to work closely with the County and Town to advance our collective, science-based efforts to understand the extent of PFAS detections in the area. This next phase of targeted sampling by the County will provide additional data to guide our response efforts to protect public health in the area,” said Michael Ryan, Director of Environmental Remediation for DEC.