Navy says it won't comply with federal drinking water standards in Calverton Grumman cleanup

A federal agency's decision to prioritize chemical cleanup at wells where contamination is three times the new federal limit has prompted calls for swifter action and money for public water at the former Grumman plant in Calverton.

At a public forum Oct. 29, Navy officials told members of an advisory board overseeing the Navy’s remediation at the Grumman site that it would adhere to a standard of 12 parts per trillion for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking water — three times the EPA limit set by the Department of Defense.

The Environmental Protection Agency in April set stricter standards requiring utilities to limit “forever chemicals” in drinking water linked to cancers, developmental damage and other health problems. The human-made chemicals are commonly found in firefighting foams and do not break down naturally. The limit of 4 parts per trillion exceeds current state standards for contaminants in Long Island drinking water.

The Department of Defense said its parameter “prioritizes action where PFAS levels are the highest, rather than delay action at these locations while ongoing remedial investigations continue,” according to a September memo. But frustrated residents say the move will only delay cleanup action and asked the Navy for $2 million to pay for public water extensions to homes near the facility.

The Navy is responsible for cleaning up the 6,000-acre former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant in Calverton, where Grumman once tested fighter jets.

Navy testing from 2016 showed PFAS, in groundwater at the site. Private drinking wells east on River Road also detected PFAS in 2018 and 2019, officials said.

Navy engineer Addison Phoenix said a review of the data from private wells on River Road show “no exceedances” of the Department of Defense guideline.

Frank Mancini, superintendent of the Riverhead Water District, said that is misleading.

“You do have detections above [4 ppt] in private wells right now on River Road that you guys know your plume is causing,” he said at the meeting. “You’re presenting this like, ‘It hasn’t hit our action level.’ But you just made the action level up.”

Navy spokesman David Todd said the highest result detected was 11.2 parts per trillion. That well was retested in 2019 with a result of 2.15 parts per trillion, he said.

While the Navy has acknowledged the plume is traveling south and southeast toward the Peconic River, Todd said “It is unknown currently if the plume is migrating eastward toward River Road.”

Last year, state health officials warned against eating fish caught in the Peconic River due to PFAS contamination.

At the meeting, Mancini and other town officials asked the Navy for $2 million to connect 28 homes on River Road to public water while their investigation goes on. Riverhead Town has grants to cover most of the $6.9 million project and said the funding will close a gap. 

In 2024, the Navy budgeted approximately $1.9 million for the site, Todd said.

Phoenix said the latest Department of Defense policy doesn’t allow them to take action.

“We’re still figuring out that problem,” she said of the contamination. “It is just a little bit more of an elaborate process here because of how many contamination sources we have.”

The Navy is abiding by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund program, an arcane process involving extensive investigations and studies before remediation can begin.

“In the meantime, the water is still contaminated,” said Dawn Thomas, who leads community development in Riverhead. “So put the pipe in … and then you can take as much time as you want to figure it out, because we know that people won’t be suffering.”

Navy officials said testing will continue this fall and updates will be given at the next advisory meeting in January.