The Town of Brookhaven is starting to explore how to clean up an underground plume of toxic chemicals emanating from the Brookhaven Landfill.
Last August, the state Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the town to figure out how to remediate any drinking water sources that are affected due to elevated levels of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane found in public wells.
The town was given the go-ahead this week to characterize the plume’s significance. This process will take two years to sample the ground water on- and off site for pollution. Based on the data collected and with additional approval, the town can start the cleanup.
Christine Fetten, commissioner of Brookhaven’s Department of Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management, said the town will work “to identify potential sources of forever chemicals in the environment both upgradient and downgradient of the facility.”
“The town remains committed to working with the [state] on this program to identify potential sources of these forever chemicals in the environment, providing draft mitigation measures to the DEC and communicating findings with the residents of Brookhaven,” she said in a statement.
The state, as well as the Suffolk County Water Authority, said there is no current threat to drinking water in the public water supply coming from wells flowing away from the landfill.
Residents near the landfill said they feel powerless in the deliberations between the town and the state.
“This has been a closed-door process that our elected officials don’t even participate in a meaningful way,” said Monique Fitzgerald, co-founder of Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group.
Since 2020, the organization of volunteers has urged for the immediate closure of the landfill and a regional discussion about waste management and equity.
They say the North Bellport community is overburdened by the transfer and disposal of much of Long Island’s waste. Several lawsuits, including the most recent filed by a former student of Frank P. Long Intermediate School across the highway from the Yaphank-based landfill, have called for investigations into the health and environmental impact of the facility.
“That is unacceptable for communities identified as disadvantaged and potential environmental justice areas,” Fitzgerald said. “The Department of Environmental Conservation needs to open this process up to the public. If anything is going to change for the better, the community disproportionately impacted by the Brookhaven Landfill needs to be decision makers here.”
In January, the state agency's regional Division of Materials Management spoke with residents at a community meeting hosted by the Brookhaven Village Association. The informational session turned hostile towards the state for not releasing the town’s proposals for characterizing the plume’s significance.
Through freedom of information requests, WSHU obtained an October draft of the proposal and published it, as well as answers to community questions, to a live blog on the station’s Trash Talkin’ series.
As of this week, the final plan, as well as a community update to the state’s oversight of the landfill, is posted to the Department of Environmental Conservation website.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the state said the DEC will “closely oversee the implementation of the investigation and potential corrective actions and continue to keep residents and local officials informed throughout the process.”
At the same time, the state is considering renewing the landfill’s permit, which expires in June 2026. The town submitted for renewal in March.
The facility is expected to stop taking construction and demolition debris by the end of this year, and plans to accept household and other solid waste that is burned into ash at incinerators until capacity is reached.
Town Supervisor Dan Panico has said that capacity could be reached beyond the current permit in 2028. His office has not replied to requests for an interview.
