SOUTH CAIRO, N.Y. ( NEWS10 )– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has preliminarily approved the installation of municipal water lines in South Cairo, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. The plan includes extending the Village of Catskill’s water line to the County Estates development then to Scotch Rock Road and looping back to the Estates.
Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Contaminated water in the area was first discovered by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in the early 1980s when they found plant employees had been pouring waste organic solvents down drains attached to an abandoned septic system for several years. American Thermostat built thermostats for small appliances at an eight-acre manufacturing facility located between State Route 23 and Route 23B from 1954 to 1985.
In August, Claudia Shuman, the remedial project manager for the EPA told NEWS10 that the initial step with dealing with contamination was to build a water pipeline to provide clean water for local residents. However, the pipeline didn’t reach all residents.
State officials began testing drinking water wells in the vicinity of the facility and found them to be contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In 2023, the EPA said the harmful compounds could still be under the factory and in its groundwater.
Some homes in the area, more than half a mile away from the site, are still testing positive for contaminated well water. Groden told NEWS10 the contamination is not something that is going away but the approval to extend water lines can help.
“This is a significant success in the efforts by local governments to provide municipal water to those residences effected by American Thermostat,” Groden said.
In September, the EPA announced they will be covering the cost of the water lines , but the county will pay the initial cost of the engineering analysis to find out how much the project will cost. According to Groden, the EPA agreed to fund the extension of a 10-inch water line in two locations.
Replacing lead water lines in Amsterdam “The first is approximately 350 feet to the current “wellhouse” serving 61 residences in County Estates Park, the second would be for Scotch Rock Road,” Groden stated in an email in September. “Greene County has committed to pre-fund engineering analysis in order to obtain cost estimates. These estimates must be in a format suitable for EPA standards. Once that is received, EPA will commit to funding the construction of either or both waterlines.”
Groden said the Village of Catskill will own the water line and will invoice residents for consumption on a quarterly basis. He said invoices are estimated between $80 and $100.
“EPA has determined that extending the waterline to Country Estates and any other affected residences is eligible for funding under Superfund,” the Agency stated. “Next, EPA must approve the funding after our final internal review. If the funds are approved, after the design work is completed, the EPA will award the funds to the Village of Catskill through a cooperative agreement.”
As of Thursday, there are no estimates for the project, Groden added. But county officials hope for construction to begin in the Spring of 2025.
Local officials have also requested state representatives hold another informational session with residents to completely explain project details. EPA representatives agreed but there is no meeting scheduled yet.
“While there are many more milestone events that will need to be accomplished, this is a very big success story,” Groden said. “The level of contamination hasn’t diminished much in 30 to 40 plus years. The solution is municipal water.”
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