MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting the federal government has refused to reimburse the city of Newburgh for costs and damages it continues to incur as a result of the PFAS contamination of the city’s Washington Lake reservoir. The contamination was caused by the use of firefighting foam at the Stewart Air National Guard Base, located near the reservoir. Interim City Manager Joseph Donat said Feb. 21, the Department of the Air Force advised the city that its claim for damages was denied. Donat said the city merely wants to protect its residents, get reimbursed for its expenses and clean up the watershed. “There is no doubt that Stewart...is a source of the PFAS that contaminated Washington Lake,” he said. Newburgh filed a lawsuit against the federal government in August 2018. Donat said the city will now amend that court complaint. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney have been fighting to have the Air Force clean up the mess and stop the pollution. Maloney said lawmakers got millions in funding included to pay for remediation efforts in last year’s defense bill. He said that money should be directed to places like Newburgh. Since May 2016, the city has been accessing the New York City Catskill Aqueduct for its water with the state picking up the tab. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.