Last week, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its final plan for a permanent replacement water source for the community of Hoosick Falls.

In 2015, PFOA was discovered in the community’s drinking water supply. Manufacturers Saint Gobain and Honeywell were found to be responsible.

The DEC’s plan is complex, but the nut of it includes developing two new groundwater supply wells, and converting existing test wells south of Hoosick Falls into production wells.

The plan is currently being reviewed by the community, but one Hoosick Falls resident, Jennifer Plouffe, told us she was skeptical. Plouffe and others argue that the entire region is polluted with PFAS chemicals. Additionally, she wondered aloud why the DEC didn’t decide to make the Tomhannock Reservoir, the drinking water source for the city of Troy, the new drinking water source for Hoosick Falls.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos told Capital Tonight that he, too, originally thought the Tomhannock was the community’s best bet.

“I will share that early on, I was also skeptical of the valley’s ability to provide clean water from the aquifer, but we let science be our guide,” Seggos said. “We really took years to drill into the aquifer in the entire valley to find clean water, and not just clean water, but enough water to meet the village’s need.”

When asked if the decision not to utilize the Tomhannock Reservoir, which is further away from Hoosick Falls, was made because of financial considerations, Seggos replied “absolutely not."