Residents fear Bethpage plume cleanup plan could close down streets

Northrop Grumman provided an update to the community Thursday night on the cleanup plan of the toxic Bethpage plume.

News 12 Staff

Aug 15, 2019, 11:20 PM

Updated 1,705 days ago

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Northrop Grumman provided an update to the community Thursday night on the cleanup plan of the toxic Bethpage plume.

As News 12 has reported, the state Department of Environmental Conservation put a plan forward in May to clean up the plume.

The focus of the meeting was to discuss the plan to install a pipeline down a residential street along North Windhorst Avenue in Bethpage.

The plan includes installing 24 extraction wells - eight in the interior of the plume and 16 along the margins.

Officials say the wells would extract about 12,000 gallons of water per minute. The water would be treated and then returned to the aquifer system.

In order to do this, officials say about 23.5 miles of underground piping needs to be installed.

The project director with Northrop Grumman said that laying the pipeline on North Windhorst Avenue wasn't their first choice.

He said they had wanted to install the pipeline on a greenbelt a few blocks away, but a large portion of that is owned by King Kullen, and that the company did not agree to allow it.
In recent weeks a number of residents have signed cease-and-desist orders, delivered to the town of Oyster Bay, demanding the pipeline between those wells be moved to a nearby utility easement.

Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino says the town supports the people on the street affected, and that pushing for eminent domain to get access to the greenbelt isn't out of the question.
A spokesperson with Northrop Grumman confirms that the plans are currently on hold and they cannot proceed without town approval.
The company says it'll wait for the town supervisor's feedback, then have another meeting with residents about how they'll move forward with the pipeline.
 


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