T IMES
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 30, No 26
3
JUNE 27 - JULY 3, 2018
3
ONE DOLLAR
Summer
guide Legion
ball
Booklet Page 44
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
State sues firefighting foam makers Another hat
in the ring
BY SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
New York State is suing the
manufacturers of PFOA and PFOS-
containing firefighting foam responsible
for the contamination of public drinking-
water supplies, including the City of
Newburgh’s. The lawsuit, filed in Albany
Supreme Court on June 19, alleges
firefighting foam caused widespread
contamination resulting in unsafe
drinking water for thousands of people
across the state.
The lawsuit points to contamination
at military bases and civilian airports
in Southampton, Plattsburgh, Rome,
New Windsor and Newburgh, where the
Stewart Air National Guard Base was
declared a state Superfund site in 2016.
“The conduct of these manufacturers
caused widespread contamination of our
drinking water and our environment –
and jeopardized the health of tens of
thousands of New Yorkers,” Attorney
General Barbara Underwood said in a
statement last Wednesday. “My office will
hold these companies accountable for
endangering the health of New Yorkers,
including forcing them to fully repay the
state for cleaning up the toxic mess they
created.”
Named in the lawsuit are firefighting
foam manufacturers 3M Company, Tyco
Fire Products, Chemguard, Buckeye
Fire Equipment, National Foam and
Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. The state alleges the
companies “designed, manufactured,
marketed, and sold aqueous film-forming
foam and related products (AFFF) that
were discharged into the environment at
or from sites throughout New York.”
The state seeks to recover at least $38
million in costs associated with cleaning
up environmental contamination caused
by the foam. The state has carried
out extensive cleanups in and around
contaminated sites, including Stewart
International Airport and Stewart ANGB,
which state testing proved to be the
source of drinking-water contamination
within the City of Newburgh drinking
Continued on page 4
Pomp and circumstance
Francisco Colon
The Newburgh Free Academy Madrigals performed several songs Thursday evening during the commencement ceremonies at Academy Field.
Story on page 22.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
Ralph Coates joins
race for 104th
Assembly seat
BY SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Director of the Liberty Partnerships
Program at SUNY Orange, Ralph Coates
has thrown his hat in the race for the
seat in the 104th District of the New
York State Assembly. Coates faces at
least two opponents in the Democratic
primary election
in September. “I
have a passion
for working in
the
heart
of
communities,”
said Coates when
asked why he
decided to run.
If elected to the
job, Coates said
he would work
Ralph Coates
to enact education
reform, protect women’s rights and
expand voting opportunities. “It should
not be difficult to vote in New York
State,” said Coates, who supports early
voting, same-day voter registration and
online voter registration. “I believe in
protecting women’s rights,” he said,
including a woman’s right to an abortion.
Coates also supports criminal-justice
reform. “We have way too many non-
violent offenders in prison,” he said.
Coates said he supports drug -treatment
Continued on page 4