The top regional official representing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told Gov. Kathy Hochul in a letter this week that his team has committed “substantial federal resources” in response to recent concerns about radiological contamination in Niagara County.
In a letter sent to Hochul on Monday, EPA regional administrator Mike Martucci defended his agency’s role in an ongoing regional radiological assessment, suggesting Hochul’s earlier request to accelerate its work wasn’t necessary because it was already happening.
“Everything we can speed up — access agreements, field work, deeper sampling, and potential cleanups, where needed — is being accelerated,” Martucci wrote.
In his letter, Martucci said his agency has been “surging resources and manpower” into Niagara and Erie counties amid ongoing property-by-property assessments while engaging “dozens of expert staff” both internally and from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to “help with all aspects of the project.”
While the administration has championed rollbacks of federal environmental protection measures and pollution-control programs during his current term, Martucci told Hochul his boss, President Donald Trump, considers protecting human health and the environment and “ensuring clean land, air and water for all Americans” as a “top priority.”
On July 14, Hochul sent a letter of her own to Martucci in which she called on his agency to expedite the processing of test results from residential properties in the Town of Niagara where high levels of radioactive contamination have been detected.
In her letter, Hochul decried what she described as the “wheels of federal bureaucracy” turning too slowly, leaving affected families to wait “months or months or years for peace of mind — or to learn about a potential risk to their health.
At the time, Martucci characterized Hochul’s claims about EPA delays in testing as an “outright lie.”
In his letter to Hochul on Monday, Martucci outlined steps his agency has taken to assist the DEC with radiological assessment and testing, noting its involvement in aerial survey work conducted in 2023 and 2024 and a vehicle-based survey started last year.
Since July 23, Martucci said EPA and state teams have visited more than 1,200 properties and obtained permission to access private property for additional testing from 756 homeowners.
According to Martucci, the EPA and DEC have so far screened 350 properties while working “seven days a week” to “ensure we provide answers to residents as quickly as possible.” He noted that the two agencies have also coordinated “drop-in” sessions recently to allow residents living in the Town of Niagara to ask questions of agency officials and obtain more information about the property access and survey process.
“EPA supports NYSDEC and NYSDOH in addressing the longstanding radiological concerns in the region,” Martucci wrote. “EPA’s focus has been, and remains, ensuring the resources needed are provided without delay – and without regard to partisan politics. I’m sure you would agree that politics should never come before doing what’s best for New Yorkers.”
Several area residents, including members of Save Our Backyards Niagara, a grassroots group being led by Town of Niagara homeowners whose properties have high levels of radioactivity based on recent testing, have criticized Hochul’s response to the situation, arguing that her office should be doing more to assist families who are now seeking state support for relocation.
Some Republicans, including Bruce Blakeman, Hochul’s Republican challenger in this year’s gubernatorial election, are pushing to change New York’s superfund law, which they say could provide more relief for property owners dealing with radiological contamination.
Hochul’s staff has insisted the federal EPA is better equipped to deal with radiological cleanups, as the state’s superfund program has about $128 billion currently available, with nearly all of it already dedicated to other projects.
State Sen. Majority Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, has been a main proponent of revising the state’s superfund program; however, Hochul’s representatives say his plan would come at a high cost, requiring the DEC to add additional, specialized staff, which they argue would cause unnecessary delays in addressing cases like those in the Town of Niagara.
On Wednesday, Ken Lovett, Hochul’s senior communications advisor on energy and environment, said the governor considers protecting public health and safety her “first priority,” which is why she pushed for the proactive and ongoing assessment conducted jointly by DEC and EPA in order to get the families the answers they deserve.
“To ensure New York State is poised to deliver for Western New York families, the governor has directed a surge in resources from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the State Incident Management Team,” Lovett said. “New York State will continue to work with EPA to take any necessary actions to ensure communities are protected.”