NEWS

By Bob Brunet, Water Manager/Public Health Coordinator

I want to share the latest “happenings” with you:

1 – On 5/19/22 Town Supervisor Keith Hammond and I attended the CCCDW (Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water) Zoom meeting at 7pm. It was attended by representatives from all involved governmental agencies (RCDOH, NYSDOH, NYSDEC, and the Algonquin Middle School. We all made brief presentations to update our involvement in the PFOA/PFOS issue. For your information, I am including a copy of the outline for my discussion. Additionally, Keith Hammond updated the group on the status of Water District #2 proposal.

2 – I am also including the latest DEC "Commuity Update" publication FYI.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

By Bob Brunet, Water Manager/Public Health Coordinator

I want to share the latest “happenings” with you:

1 – Much of the most recent testing status is contained in the most recent DEC “Community Update” publication. If you have not already read it—it is worthwhile to do so.

2 – On the Town of Poestenkill website we have recently added a specialized link entitled “PFOA UPDATES” for ease of accessing significant information. It is on the left hand side of the homepage about 2/3 of the way down the page. By selecting that link you will be transferred to the page which (at the very top) has the link to the DEC pages which have voluminous information, and will be updated periodically. Additionally, this PFOA UPDATE page shows the archived reports on PFOA/PFOS.

3 – Many have questioned the testing status of the DSI facility on Rt. 355. The overview is contained in the Community Update #3.

4 – Beyond the status mentioned above, the DEC has issued on March 23, 2022 letters to each of the 13 selected homes indicating their intent to test the location, if permitted by the property owner. This testing will be conducted by the DEC during April. The residences are located near the vicinity of NY 355 / Lawrence Street, and on the North side of the vicinity of Snyders Corner Road.

I expect that Supervisor Hammond and I will be attending the next major Zoom meeting with the RCDOH, the NYSDOH, the NYSDEC, the school and others, very soon and we will be updating this website with latest information right after that session.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

By Bob Brunet, Water Manager/Public Health Coordinator

Today, Supervisor Keith Hammond and I attended the Zoom PFOA/PFOS “Monthly Update” meeting with representatives of the RCDOH, the NYSDEC, and the NYSDOH organizations. There is much ongoing work and I will be sharing some of the specific items covered here:

1. Near the Algonquin Middle School the RCDOH is in the process of testing 11 additional residents’ wells in an attempt to further isolate and locate the cause(s) of the problem. Seven of these wells are located north of the school on Rt, 351 and 4 are located south along Rt. 351. They are awaiting the test results.

2. The Algonquin Middle School is in the final stages of testing the GAC installation and, in harmony with the RCDOH, will be flushing and decontaminating the various system components, including the school’s distribution system.

3. The DSI location was discussed in detail. The last tests showed a PFOA level of 23.1 ppt, above the 10 ppt MCL. The DEC is doing more sampling and testing to obtain a broader view of the potential problem, considering the ground water flows to Newfoundland Creek. They have identified 13 homes (with private wells) as candidates for future testing. The last known problems involving the DEC were about 2010.

4. The St. Gobain site is also being tested to help determine the cause(s). Samples were taken in early 2022 and the results will be available in about 3 weeks. At this point, no site is being totally discounted as the problem source, not even the Algonquin Middle School site.

5. Town Supervisor Keith Hammond met with the Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water (CCCDW) and has developed a cooperative working relationship where we are all working together to solve the problem and he committed to keeping them informed.

6. The DEC said that they are awaiting specific results and will be publishing the Community Update in approximately 3 to 4 weeks.

7. Supervisor Hammond said that Sand Lake is showing significant interest in obtaining a municipal water source and that, with Poestenkill, they will be meeting with the LaBerge Group to explore options.

As is our practice, I will keep you informed of our progress with periodic updates.

By Bob Brunet, Water Manager/Public Health Coordinator

Many positive accomplishments have occurred since my last update and this notification covers many of those; as always, if you have any questions or would like more information please call or email me. Some of these items are:

On December 8th we held a Community Forum at the Algonquin Middle School between 3 and 8 pm. Numerous representatives from the RCDOH, the NYSDEC, the NYSDOH, and the Town were there and met on a “one-on-one” basis to answer residents’ questions and to present the latest status of testing and ongoing actions to determine the source(s) of the contamination. Feedback, from both the residents and the respective agencies indicated that the Forum was a success and the agencies committed to maintaining the communications with the community through publications and future meetings. Updated information will be available on the DEC website.

The recent test results for both the RCDOH and the Town-aided Private testing are:

RCDOH:

TOTAL TESTED – 77

NUMBER AT OR ABOVE THE MCL – 13

NUMBER BETWEEN 5PPT AND 10PPT – 11

NUMBER “SOME” LEVEL BETWEEN 3 AND 5PPT – 21

NUMBER “NON-DETECTS” – 32

13 LOCATIONS OF 77 SHOWED A LEVEL OF PFOA/PFOS >MCL (16.9%)

45 LOCATIONS OUT OF 77 SHOWED SOME LEVEL OF PFOA/PFOS (58.4%)

PRIVATE WELL TESTS:

TOTAL TESTED – 11

NUMBER AT OR ABOVE THE MCL – 1

NUMBER “SOME” LEVEL BETWEEN 3 AND 5PPT – 4

1 LOCATION OUT OF 11 SHOWED A LEVEL OF PFOA/PFOS >MCL (.09%)

5 LOCATIONS OUT OF 11 SHOWED SOME LEVEL OF PFOA/PFOS (45.4%)

Town Supervisor Keith Hammond met with the Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water (CCCDW) On December 10th to discuss the current water issues in the area surrounding homes near Algonquin Middle School. The members shared their goal to restore safe drinking water to the community and committed to working with the Town as the investigation goes forward.

Supervisor Hammond and I are both very involved in the periodic Zoom update meetings with our partners in resolving this issue, the RCDOH, the NYSDEC, the NYSDOH, the Algonquin Middle School, and others. This continuation of Zoom meetings keeps everyone updated on the ongoing status.

The DEC is working on identifying the source(s) based upon their knowledge, supplemented by Town and residents’ input. Unfortunately, this is a slower process than many would like, but it is important to follow time-tested procedures. We will be informed of latest progress shortly.

At the December 16th Town Board meeting the Board approved engaging the LaBerge Group to work on expanding our Water District and likely establishing a second Water District #2. We believe that we can obtain very significant grant monies to help accomplish this. Our preliminary work has focused on the details of an expansion to our existing system and contemplates providing municipal water to the affected area near the school. As Supervisor Hammond stated at the meeting “This can be a very good thing for Poestenkill!”.

The Algonquin Middle School is in the final testing phases of the newly installed GAC systems (by the DEC) and expect to be operational with the new systems in January 2022.

As is our practice, I will keep you informed of our progress with periodic updates.

In the meantime, all of us at Town Hall wish you our very best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

DEC Community Update (November): https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/poestenkillupdate1121.pdf

DEC Community Update (October): https://www.dec.ny.gov/data/der/factsheet/poestenkillupdate1021.pdf

Bob Brunet, Water Manager/Public Health Coordinator

This update includes a copy of the Community Update recently issued by the NYSDOH-DEC regarding the PFOA/PFOS situation and what is being done by the various involved agencies. We have hosted a number of recent Community Meetings, the most recent at the VFW on Saturday, 10/9/21. The meeting was led by Judith Enck, former EPA Administrator, and attended by Supervisor Keith Hammond and Legislator Robin Bayly and approximately 75 individuals. Also attending was Rob Hayes from Environmental Advocates who handed out his fact sheet on PFOAs. The attendees strongly stated that:

1-They wanted to thank Poestenkill Deputy Supervisor Eric Wohlleber for his leadership role in this PFOA issue.

2-They were concerned with the length of time between the Algonquin Middle School initial testing and the current testing status.

3-They wanted significantly more testing in a shorter timeframe.

4- They wanted more test monitoring wells at strategic locations which might have used PFOA in the past to help determine the cause of the problem.

Robin Bayly stated that the county would be increasing the testing and said that the county was working closely with the town and the other governmental agencies involved. Currently, the second round of testing for 10 homes is in the laboratory and we are awaiting test results.

Judith Enck said that is important that the DEC test for all 29 PFAS chemicals they are capable of testing for. Algonquin school had hits of several PFAS chemicals, not just PFAS. She further believes that the scientific community would likely be recommending a lower standard for PFOA of between 0 to 2 PPT and that an “outside citizens” organization was necessary. Judith is particularly concerned that since fetuses, infants, and children are especially susceptible that women who are pregnant should have their wells tested for sure.

The next Town Board meeting on October 21st may be moved to the VFW to accommodate a larger crowd.

We will keep you informed on the latest status of this important issue and urge you to read the DEC update and to stay tuned to the town website. If you have any questions please contact: Robert Brunet, P.E. at rlbrunet@cisbec.net, waterpoest@nycap.rr.com, or 518-283-5100 EXT 110.

As mentioned in our last update on the Town Website, we were planning, with the strong support of the RCDOH and the NYSDOH, to test a number of resident wells for PFOAs. We have recently received test results on the samples of 10 resident wells adjacent to the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill. Two of the ten locations tested somewhat higher than the MCL level recently established by the State and all 8 of the other wells were below the MCL requirement; in fact, 7 of the 10 wells showed no PFOA presence.

These tests were established cooperatively by the Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, and New York State public health organizations after a test result came back with elevated levels of PFOA from the Algonquin Middle School in the spring of 2021. After learning of this test result the Town of Poestenkill and Rensselaer County provided free test samples for 10 neighboring properties of the Middle School.

This week those test results came back and 8 of the 10 tests were within the State regulations of 10 parts per trillion (PPT) which is deemed acceptable for PFOAs. Two of the ten wells tested showed results with levels of PFOAs somewhat higher than State guidelines, one of the wells in the close proximity to the Middle School with results similar to the school’s results.

The two property owners with the levels above the MCL are receiving bottled water from the NYSDEC and the DEC is installing a POET system to treat their wells. This “Point Of Entry Treatment” system, also known as a GAC system, will be installed and maintained by the DEC with continued follow-up testing until the problem is solved.

Now that the results of the first 10 locations have been received, we are continuing to work with the RCDOH and are selecting more sites, possibly the next 10, in order to further protect the residents’ water and also as an aid to determine the source of the problem.

“We are working closely with county leaders, including County Executive Steve McLaughlin to support our residents”, said Keith Hammond, Poestenkill Supervisor. “Residents should know that we are doing everything we can to address those properties which are impacted and we will provide additional testing so that our residents have the information they need to guarantee the safety of their loved ones”.

Residents who have any questions are welcomed to contact the Poestenkill Water Manager, Robert Brunet at 518-283-5100 ext.110, or at his email: waterpoest@nycap.rr.com.

From Bob Brunet – Poestenkill Water Manager

In our last update we quoted numerous NYSDOH statements which reassured us that the school’s water “does not pose a significant health risk” and “Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses”. I stated that “even though the school’s test results are barely above the MCL, the school is taking action which will improve the water quality”. We have stayed involved in this issue and believe that the school is close to deciding which remedial option will best fit their needs. We will keep you informed.

During the timeframe since our last update, Supervisor Keith Hammond, Deputy Town Supervisor Eric Wohlleber, and I have been actively working with the RCDOH and the NYSDOH to further insure that the wells nearby the school are providing safe water for our residents. As a result of this activity we have recently received a commitment from Justin Deming, Chief, Regions 4, 5 & 8 -NYSDOH, Bureau Of Environmental Exposure Investigation, that the State, with our involvement and the involvement of the RCDOH, will test at least 12 home wells in the area to reinforce that the water is safe to consume. This Bureau is the responsible agency which looks into potential exposures to chemicals in the environment.

As always we will keep close to this issue and will notify you of results.

This is a follow-up to our February 27, 2021 report on the situation involving the Algonquin Middle School water tests. There has been aggressive action involving various organizations, the Algonquin School personnel, the Rensselaer County Health Department (RCDOH), The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the Capital Region Environmental Laboratory (CREL), and the Town of Poestenkill organization, including the Town Supervisor, the Town Board, and the Poestenkill Water Manager. As this team continues, we will post the latest status on this website. But now we want to hopefully alleviate some anxiety by presenting PFOA facts regarding our situation from the NYSDOH. This information was provided in the NYSDOH notification Message Template for PFOA where test results were less than 35 ppt, as compared to the newly established 10 ppt in NYS, one of the lowest MCLs in the nation. The statements which the NYSDOH provided are very important. Briefly, they are:

The MCL is set well below levels known or estimated to cause health effects.

Consuming drinking water with PFOA at or somewhat above the MCL does not pose a significant health risk.

Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses.

At the level of PFOA detected in your water, exposure from drinking water and food preparation is well below PFOA exposures associated with health effects.

Robert Brunet, Poestenkill Water Manager said “The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has adopted a drinking water regulation that requires all public water systems to test for PFOA. If found above the MCL of 10 ppt, the water supplier must take steps to lower the level to meet the standard. So, even though the school’s test results are barely above the MCL, the school is taking action which will improve the water quality. I assure you that we will stay involved to protect your interests and will keep you informed”.