By Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine
CALVERTON – The former Grumman-Navy site in Calverton is rife with pollution left over from its industrial past. Unlike some forms of pollution, the chemicals present do not break down for generations and are linked to various cancers and organ maladies.
These forever chemicals (PFAS and 1,4-dioxane), found in plumes stemming from the site, now stretch out far from their origins, and every moment we delay allows them to inch further into our groundwater, contaminating drinking wells and surface water.
For thirty years, the Navy has delayed cleanup efforts. Even as Bethpage and other former Navy sites attracted national headlines, the Navy refuses to seriously acknowledge the problem in Calverton.
Well, Bethpage shows us we have options.
The health and well-being of Suffolk residents is not negotiable. I intend to pursue all avenues to ensure that the United States Navy takes accountability for the condition of the Grumman-run site and the neighboring contaminated land.
Forever chemicals can be mitigated to safe levels. It is a costly process that first involves knowing the full scope of the problem, which is impossible to grasp without full cooperation from all parties involved. The United States Navy delayed releasing its latest fish sampling data for one year.
The specific site is also a deep recharge area, meaning contaminants have a chance to penetrate the ground deeply as well as laterally. Current test wells have PFAS numbers well in excess of the state level of 10 parts per trillion – some wells have reached thousands of parts per trillion. One test well also found 1,4-dioxane at 10 times the state drinking water standard, with contamination entering the Peconic River.
The data collected by our well drilling and sampling teams paints a far worse picture than any data the Navy has publicly released to date.
Fishing in neighboring Swan Pond is already prohibited due to PFAS found in the water and fish, an escalation from previous warnings. Since 2023, Peconic Lake’s fish advisory of “do not eat more than 1 meal/month of Yellow Perch” has been in effect due to elevated PFAS concentrations. Without swift action to clean up contaminated source areas and the toxic groundwater plumes, more prohibitions may be put in place along the Peconic River to protect residents’ health.
Other East End residents now fear for the mutually shared Peconic Bay and what inaction could mean for their health. These fears are substantiated by Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) tests from 2026 showing surface water PFAS concentrations in the Peconic River are substantially higher than samples collected in 2024, with PFNA up to 19 times higher, PFOS up to 25 times higher, and PFOA exhibiting up to 5 times higher concentrations than those observed by the SCDHS two years earlier.
I urge the Navy to take accountability and begin moving forward with remediation, as was done with Bethpage.
In the meantime, residents are urged to contact U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota as well as U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to formally make their interest in remediation known.
If you need your private well tested, please contact the Suffolk County Health Department at (631) 852-5810. More information on the Private Well Water Testing Program can be found at https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Health-Services/Environmental-Quality/WaterResources/Private-Well-Water-Testing-Program.
Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) has served as the ninth County Executive of Suffolk County since 2024. He served as a Suffolk County Legislator representing the North Fork and eastern Brookhaven from 1986 to 1989, and again from 2006 to 2012, Suffolk County Clerk from 1989 to 2006, and Brookhaven Town Supervisor from 2012 to 2024.
