Business & Tech

Bethpage Water District to Sue Northrop Grumman

The Bethpage Water District intends to sue Northrop Grumman Corp., saying the toxic legacy left behind by the aircraft company is costing the district millions of dollars.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages to provide a wide range of treatment remedies to address the water problems before delivering them to customers, Newsday reported. The suit is being filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

In a statement, Bethpage Water District officials said the suit charges that the company caused “irreparable harm” to Bethpage’s aquifer by improperly disposing chemicals and creating a toxic plume that affects the communities’ drinking water.

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The Bethpage Water District is now seeking damages to cover the cost of water treatment and construction of new wells, the district announced.

Newsday quoted the lawsuit as saying the water district decided to sue "to forestall a water quality emergency and the attendant irreparable harm created by contamination of soil and groundwater in Bethpage."

The sprawling water district serves more than 33,000 people, with customers in parts of Bethpage, Farmingdale, Old Bethpage, Levittown and even parts of Plainview.

The groundwater contamination issues date back decades when the U.S. Navy and Grumman worked to manufacture military aircraft and ultimately the space vehicle used to land on the moon, the LM, or Apollo Lunar Module.

"Time and time again, Northrop Grumman has refused to do the right thing in assisting the residents of Bethpage in cleaning up a mess they created," Bethpage Water District chairman William J. Ellinger told Newsday. "We must hold them accountable for what they did."

Northrop Grumman representatives did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.

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