The United States Navy has been granted access to property in Nassau County to address underground contamination in Bethpage.
Nassau lawmakers unanimously approved the resolution that will be a necessary step in cleaning the Bethpage Plume, Long Island’s largest mass of carcinogenic groundwater pollution.
The Navy will pay the county $50,000 for the use of county parcels.
The plan is to construct wells for collecting samples of contamination, as well as eliminating any contaminated groundwater.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran praised the resolution, saying this “environmental disaster” has been ignored for decades.
Remaining on schedule is important, as the plume moves about one foot a day towards the Great South Bay. A remediation contract is expected to be awarded by 2021.