Northrop Grumman is set to give the Town of Oyster Bay sealed documents as part of a tentative agreement, as the town continues its effort to clean up the former Grumman site in Bethpage.
According to spokesperson Brian Nevin, the town had moved to intervene in the concluded case between Travelers Indemnity Company and Northrop Grumman in June, and Grumman’s agreement
Travelers had insured Grumman Aerospace in the 1970s and 1980s and successfully argued that it would not be financially liable for the company’s role in polluting the environment in a case that was closed in 2014.
Nevin said that in the town’s view, Grumman and Travelers never made an appropriate showing to have the site-related documents sealed.
Nevin said the agreement is subject to both Grumman’s ability to review materials that contain confidential information and protective orders in ongoing environmental litigation between the town and Grumman.
Grumman and the town are also engaged in federal litigation related to whether Grumman needs to disclose documents related to its purchase of freon, a substance used as a refrigerant at the town’s ice rink.
According to Nevin, Grumman contends it has incurred costs to remediate freon and that the town released it.
He said the town has evidence indicating that Grumman may have used and disposed of freon as well.
Grumman had used the park as a chemical waste dumping site before donating the grounds to the Town of Oyster Bay in the 1960s. Parts of Bethpage Community Park have been closed to the public since the early 2000s after toxic leaks were first discovered.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation approved a review of the Phase 1 work plan for the cleanup of the former Northrop Grumman settling ponds at present-day Bethpage Community Park in March.
