In response to an urgent plea from the Massapequa Water District officials early last week concerning a toxic plume that is moving toward the water supply, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer sent a letter on Friday to federal officials urging them to set up a joint emergency field meeting with local officials.

“It is my understanding that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) projected that certain wells would not be impacted for several years,” Schumer wrote. “However, local water districts have informed me that the groundwater sampling in the vicinity has revealed that the plume is moving more quickly than anticipated and that the impact on these well is imminent.”

The contaminated plume is from the Northrop- Grumman facility in Bethpage, a Superfund site, and is heading south, threatening both the South Farmingdale and Massapequa water supply. Massapequa Water District officials said last week that they were becoming extremely concerned because the plume is moving faster than state and federal officials had indicated earlier. They are demanding an immediate and comprehensive clean up by the federal government.

“For the past decade, we have taken every step possible to have the Grumman plume remediated,” said John Caruso, of the Massapequa Water Dis- trict. “This has been ignored by the New York State Department of Conservation and the EPA, the regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over our sole source of drinking water.”

Caruso said that the agencies are allowing the contaminants to enter the water supply wells, and then relying on treatment the contamination at that point. Water District officials called that process more costly and less effective.

“This methodology, known as wellhead treatment, has proven to be unreliable over the past decade especially considering the more stringent regulatory requirements imposed on drinking water by the EPA,” said Caruso.

“Theremedy (in the DEC decision of 2001) is not the least costly but rather the one that meets all the requirements, is most feasible and cost effective,” said Maureen Wren, a spokeswoman for the DEC. “In combination with an on- and off-site groundwater cleanup, which was also included in the decision, it will fully address the contamination.”

South Farmingdale Water District, which is north of the Massapequa Water District, faced similar concerns and borrowed funds to construct a waste cleaning plant on Langdon Road last year. At the time, South Farmingdale officials said they could not wait any longer for the U.S. Navy to release the funds the federal government agreed to pay for the remediation.

The Massapequa Water District opposes wellhead treatment, however, and wants the EPA to force the cleanup of the Superfund site and reverse the DEC’s decision that would allow the massive highly contaminated plume to enter the Massapequa Water District supply wells.

The District’s decision is based on the DEC’s alternative to total clean up has not kept pace with the EPA decision regarding acceptable drinking water ingestion by the public. The requirements for acceptable drinking water ingestion have become more stringent over the past 25 years.

“This renders the wellhead treatment an unacceptable alternative,” said Caruso.

DEC officials disagree. “The strengthening of drinking water standards would not change the remedy; while it might require better treatment from a municipal water supply, the Navy/Grumman agreed to install treatment equipment that reduces the contamination to “non-detect” levels, said Wren. “In addition, the DEC’s work to continue to limit the migration of the contamination form affecting additional water supplies also continues,” she said.

Wren added that the DEC “fully recognizes the importance of protecting the aquifer and has implemented measures such as the on-site contaminant system in place since 1998, that are working effectively. The Navy has installed one hot-spot treatment system in Bethpage that treats more than 1,000 gallons per minute. Work is ongoing and the DEC…will continue to work with communities and local water suppliers to ensure that water is safe to drink and free of contaminants,” said Wren.

The plume is estimated to be 3.5 miles long and 1.6 miles wide, flowing from the former Navy site in Bethpage. The plume contains TCE, PCE and other contaminants.

TCE is a colorless liquid used as a solvent for cleaning metal parts. Drinking or breathing high levels of trichloroethylene may cause nervous system effects, liver and lung damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma, and possibly death.

PCE in excess of government standards could have problems with their liver and may have an increased risk of cancer, according to the EPA report released in 2001.

The Water District is taking its fight to the streets. It is asking residents to sign a petition to pressure the EPA to clean up the Superfund site. The petition is online at http://www.massapequawater. com/home.shtml.