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Upstate Village Tables Pollution Deal With Saint-Gobain and Honeywell Upstate Village Tables Pollution Deal With Saint-Gobain and Honeywell
(about 1 hour later)
HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. — It has been decades since the plastics companies first arrived and silently started polluting this small village in northeastern New York, and four years since the death of a local man prompted his son to search for answers.HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. — It has been decades since the plastics companies first arrived and silently started polluting this small village in northeastern New York, and four years since the death of a local man prompted his son to search for answers.
Given that timetable, it is not completely surprising that the story of Hoosick Falls, where the local water was contaminated with high levels of a toxic chemical, has not come to a quick conclusion.Given that timetable, it is not completely surprising that the story of Hoosick Falls, where the local water was contaminated with high levels of a toxic chemical, has not come to a quick conclusion.
Even now, with a new filtration system cleaning the water, the longing for some sort of closure — as represented by a $1 million proposed legal settlement being mulled by the village trustees — remains inextricably mixed with the continuing anger expressed by local residents.Even now, with a new filtration system cleaning the water, the longing for some sort of closure — as represented by a $1 million proposed legal settlement being mulled by the village trustees — remains inextricably mixed with the continuing anger expressed by local residents.
“I don’t want to be mad at you anymore,” said Desiray Rice, a resident who pleaded with the village mayor, David Borge, to reject the deal at a community meeting on Monday night. “I want to be mad at Saint-Gobain. I want to be mad at Honeywell.”“I don’t want to be mad at you anymore,” said Desiray Rice, a resident who pleaded with the village mayor, David Borge, to reject the deal at a community meeting on Monday night. “I want to be mad at Saint-Gobain. I want to be mad at Honeywell.”
Those two companies are the current and former owners of a factory that produced Teflon products here on the banks of the Hoosic River, about 30 miles northeast of Albany.Those two companies are the current and former owners of a factory that produced Teflon products here on the banks of the Hoosic River, about 30 miles northeast of Albany.
In late 2015, state and local officials announced that tests of the water of Hoosick Falls confirmed the presence of high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is associated with the making of Teflon and has been linked a range of ailments, including cancer.In late 2015, state and local officials announced that tests of the water of Hoosick Falls confirmed the presence of high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is associated with the making of Teflon and has been linked a range of ailments, including cancer.
Since then, the village has received filtration systems; tests on residents’ blood, water and wells; and — after a delay — hearings both here and in Albany.Since then, the village has received filtration systems; tests on residents’ blood, water and wells; and — after a delay — hearings both here and in Albany.
The Department of Environmental Conservation said the state had spent more than $25 million on Hoosick Falls, money it hopes to claw back from the polluter. And on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — who has been stung by criticism of his response to the crisis — once again defended his administration’s work in the village and pledged more help if needed.The Department of Environmental Conservation said the state had spent more than $25 million on Hoosick Falls, money it hopes to claw back from the polluter. And on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — who has been stung by criticism of his response to the crisis — once again defended his administration’s work in the village and pledged more help if needed.
“We have made extraordinary efforts in Hoosick Falls,” the governor said during a question-and-answer session with reporters in the State Capitol.“We have made extraordinary efforts in Hoosick Falls,” the governor said during a question-and-answer session with reporters in the State Capitol.
That opinion does not seem to be universally shared by Hoosick Falls residents, who have repeatedly faulted the pace and extent of governmental efforts, including the fact that federal officials had raised the alarm about the water before state and local officials finally warned residents to stop using it. And little may have been done at all if not for the advocacy of Michael Hickey, an insurance underwriter from Hoosick Falls, who started to research PFOA after his father, a former factory worker, died of kidney cancer in 2013.That opinion does not seem to be universally shared by Hoosick Falls residents, who have repeatedly faulted the pace and extent of governmental efforts, including the fact that federal officials had raised the alarm about the water before state and local officials finally warned residents to stop using it. And little may have been done at all if not for the advocacy of Michael Hickey, an insurance underwriter from Hoosick Falls, who started to research PFOA after his father, a former factory worker, died of kidney cancer in 2013.
In 2014, Mr. Hickey tested the water and later brought results showing the contamination to the attention of village officials, though it took more than a year for a warning about drinking water to be issued.In 2014, Mr. Hickey tested the water and later brought results showing the contamination to the attention of village officials, though it took more than a year for a warning about drinking water to be issued.
On Monday night, Mr. Hickey was just one of a progression of residents who expressed disappointment and occasional fury at a proposed agreement with the two companies to cover costs to the village as a result of PFOA in the water supply. The residents were also troubled that the proposal included promises by both sides not to sue the other. On Monday night, Mr. Hickey was just one of a progression of residents who expressed disappointment and occasional fury at a proposed agreement with the two companies to cover costs to the village as a result of PFOA in the water supply. The residents were also troubled that the proposal included promises by both sides not to sue the other in relation to three tainted municipal wells.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Mr. Hickey said, adding that the deal had been opposed by Senator Kirsten Gillenbrand, who had drafted a letter to Mr. Borge expressing “very serious concerns” about the settlement.“It’s really unfortunate,” Mr. Hickey said, adding that the deal had been opposed by Senator Kirsten Gillenbrand, who had drafted a letter to Mr. Borge expressing “very serious concerns” about the settlement.
The Hoosick vote comes even as residents in nearby towns — across the border in Vermont and in Petersburgh, N.Y. — have also discovered PFOA contamination. It also comes amid heightened concern about water quality nationally and in other parts of the state, including Long Island, where alarms have been raised about the presence of 1,4-dioxane, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”The Hoosick vote comes even as residents in nearby towns — across the border in Vermont and in Petersburgh, N.Y. — have also discovered PFOA contamination. It also comes amid heightened concern about water quality nationally and in other parts of the state, including Long Island, where alarms have been raised about the presence of 1,4-dioxane, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”
Dina Silver Pokedoff, a spokeswoman for Saint-Gobain, the building materials company that runs the riverside factory, which has been identified by the state as the polluter and a Superfund site, said that $1 million was meant to cover “the unbudgeted expenses” the village had incurred.Dina Silver Pokedoff, a spokeswoman for Saint-Gobain, the building materials company that runs the riverside factory, which has been identified by the state as the polluter and a Superfund site, said that $1 million was meant to cover “the unbudgeted expenses” the village had incurred.
“We are ready to work with them,” Ms. Pokedoff said.“We are ready to work with them,” Ms. Pokedoff said.
That said, the several hundred residents who filed into a local armory on Monday seemed unified in their opposition to the settlement, carrying signs reading “Our Future Isn’t Cheap,” and “Dirty Water Dirty Deal!” (hung around a skeleton’s neck). They pleaded with village officials to reject the settlement.That said, the several hundred residents who filed into a local armory on Monday seemed unified in their opposition to the settlement, carrying signs reading “Our Future Isn’t Cheap,” and “Dirty Water Dirty Deal!” (hung around a skeleton’s neck). They pleaded with village officials to reject the settlement.
“This agreement is horrible,” said Rob Allen, a father of four who described the village as scared. “This community feels backed into a corner, betrayed, ignored, hurt and taken advantage of.”“This agreement is horrible,” said Rob Allen, a father of four who described the village as scared. “This community feels backed into a corner, betrayed, ignored, hurt and taken advantage of.”
That testimony, lasting two hours, apparently persuaded the village board to table the settlement pending further review.That testimony, lasting two hours, apparently persuaded the village board to table the settlement pending further review.
James Allen, a Cuomo spokesman, said the administration was “currently reviewing options” to provide the village with financial support, adding that Saint-Gobain and Honeywell would ultimately have to bear “all costs related to this contamination.” Late Tuesday, the governor’s office said that it had “committed to provide financial assistance to the community while settlement negotiations continue between the village and the company.”
Mr. Borge, a retired state employee and a Hoosick Falls resident of more than 30 years, had favored the deal to avoid the village’s having to take a loan to cover costs.Mr. Borge, a retired state employee and a Hoosick Falls resident of more than 30 years, had favored the deal to avoid the village’s having to take a loan to cover costs.
“It’s not going to go away,” he said, adding that the village owed $850,000 to its debtors.“It’s not going to go away,” he said, adding that the village owed $850,000 to its debtors.
But, he added, his term ends at the end of March. “Then,” he said, “it will be up to someone else.”But, he added, his term ends at the end of March. “Then,” he said, “it will be up to someone else.”