Friday, February 19, 2021
Vol. 81, No. 8
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SERVING BETHPAGE, OLD BETHPAGE, AND PLAINVIEW
Town approves pipeline for water plume remediation
BEST AT STEM
Bethpage High School students Ruchitha Channapatna, Maya Maciel-Seidman and Suchitha Channapatna were the 2020 Long Island Science and Education Fair winners in the Earth and Environmental Engineering category. Photo courtesy of the Bethpage Union Free School District Three students from Bethpage High School were the 2020 Long Island Science and Engineering Fair winners in the Earth and Environmental Engineering category. Maya Maciel-Seidman, Ruchitha Channapatna and Suchitha Channapatna created a robot that measures moisture levels in soil, which can be used to
optimize the growth of crops in available farmland. Maya, Ruchitha and Suchitha’s project was among 400 entries from throughout Long Island. They advanced to the International Science and Engineering Fair, which was held virtually last May. For this year’s fair, the group plans to evolve their moisture-send-
ing robot to also read pH levels of soil. “This group is beyond impressive,” science research teacher Chris Pollatos said. “Here in Bethpage, we foster a huge movement for STEM and these girls are shining stars of the program.”
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The Oyster Bay Town Board has approved an agreement with the Northrop Grumman Corporation to open the path for pipes from groundwater recovery wells at a hotspot of environmental contamination, known as RW-21, to a treatment plant on the Grumman property utilizing Town roadways. The recent Town Board approval of a site access agreement for RW-21 allows work to proceed that includes conveyance pipes and instrumentation conduits which will be installed to ultimately link existing recovery wells to the future treatment plant which will be built on Grumman property. The piping installation commenced in 2020 with near 5,000 feet of pipes currently installed, and this most recent portion of the project will complete the necessary piping connections for system operation. This remedial system is funded by Grumman and constructed under the oversight of the Town and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). At the Town’s direction, Grumman will be required to conduct continued community outreach to keep local residents apprised of the construction progress. Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “Environmental concerns have been going on for too long under the ground in our town. Thanks to years of collaboration between Federal, State and Town governments – along with the Bethpage Water District and surrounding districts – we have succeeded in forcing Grumman and the Navy to pay for these cleanups and follow the remediation plans designed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. We now take another important step forward toward remediating the plume by opening the path for pipes that will connect a hotspot of contamination to a treatment plant on the Grumman property.” Over the past year, the Town of Oyster Bay has overseen several construction projects and held regular meetings with Grumman and the Navy to monitor progress and review future work. The current remediation plan was designed after State legislation authored by then-State Assemblyman Joseph Saladino proved that hydraulic containment would be most effective in eradicating the plume. Grumman plans for construction of the hydraulic containment treatment plant – which will be located on the Grumman property - are currently being reviewed by the Town of Hempstead. Between final pipeline installation and treatment plant construction, the remedial system is anticipated to be in full operation in summer of 2022.
Chambers plan virtual networking event PAGE 3 Central Blvd. reimagines makerspaces PAGE 6