New York State will provide $200 million in grants to clean up drinking water in communities across the state.
$14 million will go to various projects on Long Island. That includes removing the possible carcinogen 1, 4-dioxane from water supplies in South Huntington and Bethpage.
Several wells in the hamlet of Wainscott will be treated for contaminants PFOS and PFOA.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, says Long Island is especially vulnerable because all of its drinking water comes from underground.
“So it’s great news for Long Islanders. We have a lot of serious contamination that needs to be addressed and we need the funding to do that.”
Federal and state governments have not set safe drinking level standards for contaminants like 1-4-dioxane, PFOS and PFOA. A state panel tasked with setting those levels missed its deadline Tuesday.