Suffolk County Expands PFAS Testing Near East Hampton Battery Plant

Suffolk County officials on Tuesday announced a sweeping expansion of testing for toxic PFAS chemicals tied to a 2023 fire at an East Hampton battery storage facility, with County Executive Edward P. Romaine warning that readings at some monitoring wells are "off the charts."

Standing near Georgica Pond, Romaine pushed back on the state Department of Environmental Conservation's assertion that the source of the chemical plume has not been identified. He said there was no ambiguity about where the contamination came from.

"This contamination began with battery storage here in East Hampton," Romaine said. "We're very concerned about that."

The DEC said in a community bulletin issued last week that no source of the contamination has been determined. The agency has defended its decision not to order groundwater testing in the wake of the 2023 thermal-runaway fire at the plant, citing soil borings conducted four months after the blaze that showed no contaminants above state standards. The fire caused an estimated 1.4 million to 2.2 million gallons of soot-laden water to flow off the property.

Suffolk County test wells have detected a PFAS compound at concentrations as high as 1,170 parts per billion — dramatically exceeding the state health department's screening threshold of 3 parts per billion — as well as elevated levels of PFOS, another member of the so-called forever chemicals family. Officials said private wells belonging to area residents have not yet surpassed that 3 ppb screening level.

The county announced plans to install six additional monitoring wells along Buckskill Road and to begin sampling surface water in Georgica Pond, Georgica Cove, Hook Pond, Lily Pond and surrounding water bodies. Suffolk has already drilled nine monitoring wells and intends to add more.

The Suffolk County Water Authority, which supplies most local residents through public drinking water drawn from more distant wells, has filed suit against the plant's owners — a company jointly held by National Grid and NextEra — as well as battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution. Approximately 30 private wells remain within the area of concern.

Romaine noted that county attorney Christopher Clayton was present at Tuesday's event because the county is evaluating its own potential legal action.

"The general public owns the aquifer," Romaine said. "This drinking water in this area is now severely impacted. We are probably going to be acting on the general public's behalf to seek remediation."

County officials also announced plans to examine contamination at sites in Sag Harbor, including the former Bulova Watch Case Factory Superfund site on Main Street and a former manufactured gas plant on Bridge Street, where the DEC recently reported finding contamination.