Toxic Threat: PFAS Contamination Spreads from Former Seneca Army Depot to Seneca Lake

Recent tests for “forever chemicals” of PFAS in water from several locations in Seneca Lake and its tributaries provide new evidence that PFAS contamination at the former Seneca Army Depot is spreading across borders.

**SLPWA and FLI conducted water testing for PFAS early this summer.**

Three streams flowing from the former Army base had the highest combined PFAS totals from water testing at twelve streams, four lake sites and one wastewater treatment plant conducted jointly by Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association and the Finger Lakes Institute.

Kendaia Creek, which drains the center of the former depot, had by far the highest readings, followed by Reeder Creek and Indian Creek. The findings tend to support previously found state tests fishing in Kendaia Creek had a very high PFAS content.

SLPWA has its report about early summer testing to its members this week.

“It is our hope that the results here will prompt some action from one of the (government) agencies,” said Mark Petzold, vice president of SLPWA. “The EPA asked the Army Corps to test and they said no. Hopefully they will reconsider that position.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to sample surface water and sediment from Kendaia and Reeder creeks for PFAS.

On its website, the EPA had described the creeks as “potential routes of PFAS to Seneca Lake,” but concluded, “To date, the Army has not agreed to our request.”

Shortly after WaterFront article about the EPA’s pleathe Army asked the agency to remove reference to the request from its website. The EPA did that.

Both the Army and the EPA declined to comment on the results of the SLPLA/FLI tests.

“While EPA recognizes the important work being done by community organizations like the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, we cannot comment on their research as we were not involved in the sampling or analysis process,” said Stephen McBay, a public information officer for the EPA. in one statement to Waterfront.

In an email statementthe army said:

“The Army/USACE (US Army Corps of Engineers) will not comment on external studies as they were not conducted within our authority nor evaluated against our quality control standards or data quality objectives prior to release.”

The statement from Army Public Affairs Specialist James D’Ambrosio further said that the EPA’s website had included a misinterpretation, “which has now been corrected….

“Army/USACE has not denied any sampling requests. Our focus is on sampling within the boundaries of the former base. If results show migration to off-base receptors – then and only then – would the Army/USACE continue these sampling efforts.”

The EPA recognized the military’s primary role as the lead government agency in evaluating contamination at the former Army base. But the EPA maintains one website page dedicated to the former depot in Romulus.

The Army said it is currently conducting three investigations into PFAS within the depot, including an investigation into four firefighting locations. Firefighting foam contains PFAS compounds and groundwater near depot firefighting sites contains high levels of PFASaccording to a 2018 study.

**In a 2018 report for the U.S. Army, Parsons Corp. about PFAS levels as high as 92,000 parts per trillion in groundwater at the former Seneca Army Depot.**

Between April and October last year, the Army sampled groundwater, surface water and sediment near depot fire exercises, the EPA reported. The agency said the Army is expected to announce its results this winter.

“We’re waiting for that,” Petzold said. “Where has the groundwater gone? They are looking for the (PFAS) plume.”

PFAS is an acronym for a class of thousands of man-made chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) found in hundreds of common products, including water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant furniture, fast food packaging and cosmetics.

**Kendaia Creek drains the center of the former Seneca Army Depot and passes SEAD 25, a former firefighting site. Reeder and Indian creeks flow through the sides of the base.**

They are extremely persistent in the environment, and exposure to even trace amounts can lead to kidney and liver damage, several types of cancer and other health problems.

New York State limits two PFAS variants – PFOA and PFOS – to 10 parts per trillion in public drinking water. The EPA limit for these two chemicals in tap water is 4 parts per trillion. While many other PFAS compounds are likely just as dangerous, virtually all of them are unregulated.

Evidence that PFAS had reached Seneca Lake surfaced with the state early last year The Department of Environmental Conservation tested 34 lake trout and yellow perch. The agency reported that 27 of the fish had PFOS levels of more than 2,000 parts per trillion and five fish registered more than 15,000 ppt.

Weeks later, one SUNY-ESF reported that the average level of PFOS found in the Seneca lake trout it tested was 11,800 ppt.

PFOS in particular accumulates in fish — rural. But the water in which the fish swim often has thousands of times lower concentrations.

In fact, SLPWA/FLI testing of water from four locations on Seneca Lake showed combined PFAS levels ranging from 1.0 ppt to 2.96 ppt. But PFOS, the chemical most likely to accumulate in fish, was not detected.

“We found no PFOS detectable in the lake,” Petzold said. “That’s one of the head-scratching things.”

**Water samples were taken from Kendaia Creek near Seneca Lake, well below the boundary of the former Army depot.**

Kendaia Creek had a combined PFAS of 90.90 ppt, followed by Reeder Creek at 18.95 ppt and Indian Creek at 11.71 ppt. PFOS levels were 3.65 ppt in Kendaia and 1.10 ppt for Reeder Creek, while it was not detected in water from Indian Creek. All three had detectable levels of other PFAS compounds commonly found in firefighting foam, Petzold said.

After the three creeks flowing from the former Army base, the site tested by SLPWA with the second highest PFAS total was the Penn Yan Wastewater Treatment Plant at 8.10 ppt.

Next was Plum Creek, on the west side of Seneca Lake, at 6.92 ppt. Catharine Creek, on the south side of the lake, recorded a total PFAS of 5.05.

Wastewater treatment plants currently have no regulated limits for PFAS in their effluent.

However, the DEC is currently testing wastewater treatment plants statewide. The agency is expected to release the test results next year, Petzold said, and state-imposed limits could follow soon.

The DEC did not respond to emailed questions.

The SLPWA/FLI samples were collected by students and sent to Cornell University for testing.

Peter is a three-time Pulitzer nominated reporter who covers environmental issues through his first digital publication of its kind The Waterfront. He has won a series of awards from the Associated Press, UPI and Society of Professional Journalist. His reporting on environmental issues continues to be featured in prominent New York publications and is available on FingerLakes1.com through an exclusive content partnership. Do you have a question or suggestion? Send it to (email protected).