(AGENPARL) - Roma, 13 Maggio 2024 - (AGENPARL) – lun 13 maggio 2024 Issued: May 13, 2024 (10:47am EDT)
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EPA and New York State Break Ground on Project to Ensure Clean Drinking Water
for Hicksville, N.Y. Households
Hicksville, N.Y. (May 13, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the State of New York broke ground on a pivotal drinking water
infrastructure project in Hicksville, N.Y. System operators will install a
system to safeguard the community’s drinking water from PFAS chemicals, also
known as ‘forever chemicals.’ The project received water infrastructure
investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the New York State
Water Infrastructure Improvement grant program.
“No matter where people live, they should feel confident about the water
coming out of the faucet,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia.
“This new system—along with other improvements under way and planned for
this project—will give that assurance to the people of Hicksville.”
EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia joined U.S. Representative Tom
Suozzi, New York State Department of Health Executive Deputy Commissioner
Johanne Morne and New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Director
of Program Management Máire Cunningham in front of Hicksville Water
District’s Plant 6 where construction is already underway. Nassau County
Legislator Rose Marie Walker, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino
and Hicksville Water District Chairman Karl Schweitzer also joined the
celebration.
This portion of the efforts to improve the Hicksville system is funded by a $2
million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Emerging Contaminants grant through the
New York Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program and a $3 million New York
State Water Infrastructure Improvement grant. The new treatment system is
designed to meet the EPA’s new final PFAS standards. In addition to the $5
million in grants for the project breaking ground today, New York State has
awarded the Hicksville Water District $31 million in New York State grants to
date to install treatment systems that remove emerging contaminants at their
water supply well sites.
“All New Yorkers deserve to have access to safe, reliable drinking water,
yet far too many are still exposed to dangerous PFAS chemicals that are
infiltrating New York water supplies,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am
thrilled to see work begin on this critical water infrastructure project that
will remove PFAS chemicals from the drinking water supply for Hicksville area
residents. I am proud to have helped secure the federal funding for this
project by fighting to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will
continue fighting for the resources needed to enhance public health and
provide New Yorkers with access to safe drinking water.”
“Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supercharging the effort to clean-up
our drinking water even while it creates good-paying jobs and boosts the Long
Island economy. I’m proud that the EPA is putting $2 million in
Infrastructure Law funding forward to help Hicksville Water District and New
York build a water treatment system to more effectively screen out dangerous
1,4 Dioxane, PFOS, PFOA and other toxins from residents’ drinking water.
This is just the beginning, and I will continue to advocate for more funding
and safety improvements across Long Island,” said U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I fought for the bipartisan infrastructure bill so we could get funding to
places like the Hicksville Water District. We will need more money to protect
our drinking water without raising taxes,” said U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi
(NY-3). “I will continue fight to bring more money back to water districts
here on Long Island and in Queens.”
“Today’s groundbreaking in Hicksville represents the continued commitment
of both New York State and the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure our
communities have access to clean drinking water, as this is a fundamentally
important element to good health,” said New York State Health Commissioner
Dr. James McDonald. “We thank our partners for their collaborative
leadership and investments in protecting the drinking water here in Hicksville
and throughout New York State.”
“EFC is proud to have provided critical grants to the Hicksville Water
District since 2017 in support of vital projects that safeguard drinking water
for thousands of residents in Nassau County. This financial assistance is
projected to save local ratepayers over $57 million in costs the water
district would have incurred if it had financed these projects on its own,”
said New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO
Maureen A. Coleman. “Under the leadership of Governor Hochul, EFC and our
partners in federal, state, and local government continue working to ensure
that communities large and small receive the support they need to undertake
projects that are vital to their residents’ public health and quality of
life.”
“Thanks to the U.S. EPA under the leadership of Administrator Regan and
Regional Administrator Garcia, New York State is advancing efforts to remove
emerging contaminants like PFAS from drinking water in Hicksville, and
communities across Long Island,” said New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar. “DEC continues
to work closely with our local, state, and federal partners to upgrade
critical water infrastructure statewide with significant investments thanks to
the Biden Administration, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and New York
State’s Clean Water Infrastructure Act and Environmental Bond Act.”
“I look forward to working together to address the remediation of emerging
contaminants so that we can continue to provide safe drinking water in our
communities,” said Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker. “Our water
districts cannot do this alone. They need all government agencies to work
together so that the financial burden does not fall on the rate payers
alone.”
“All over this region, we’re fighting contamination from corporations of
the past where taxpayers are forced to clean up the mess. We thank the Federal
and State government for allocating funds to this project and commend the
Hicksville Water District for all they are doing to protect water at the
tap,” stated Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. “In Town
government, we will continue doing everything we can to shine a light on the
polluters who contaminated our soils and groundwater while demanding they be
held accountable for the cleanup of their environmental mess.”
“The Hicksville Water District has spent the last several years
aggressively planning and pursuing the most state-of-the-art treatment
technology available as we treat for 1,4-dioxane and forever chemicals. Our
community deserves the highest-quality drinking water possible, and we are
proud to say that our efforts have been successful in doing so,” said
Hicksville Water District Chairman Karl Schweitzer. “On behalf of the
Hicksville community, we thank the EPA and New York State for the grant
funding that has allowed us to do this work at a reduced cost to our
residents.”
Serving nearly 48,000 Nassau County residents, the Hicksville Water District
has detected PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane in fourteen of their public water
supply wells, including in the two wells at Plant No. 6 which supply 15
percent of Hicksville’s drinking water. Although levels of PFOA and PFOS at
Plant No. 6 are less than the current state standard of 10 parts per trillion,
they have exceeded the new federal maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per
trillion. The 1,4-dioxane levels at the plant are nearing the state’s limit
of 1 part per billion. 
The Hicksville Water District has been proactively blending the well water at
the plant as a short-term measure to ensure that the water that comes from the
tap meets water quality standards. As a long-term solution to address emerging
contaminants at Plant No. 6, the Hicksville Water District will install
treatment to remove PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane. The project enhances proactive
public health protection with the goal of producing treated water free from
detectable PFOS, PFOA and 1,4-dioxaane.
Hicksville Water District has successfully completed the pre-construction
phase for the new treatment building, which involved critical modifications to
site piping and the placement of the electrical transformer. The project is
currently on track for a June 2025 finish.
On April 10 of this year, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the
first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect
communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS). Exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the
liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.
Follow EPA Region 2 on X and visit our Facebook page. For more information
about EPA Region 2, visit our website.
24-042
For further information: Contact: Carlos Vega, (646) 988-2996,
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