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St. Gobain and Honeywell caused the Rensselaer County water pollution

Sep 02, 2016 12:45 pm
Scott Waldman reports in Politico New York that while there was criticism leveled at the Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and State Sen. Kathy Marchione at an Aug. 30 State Senate hearing in Hoosick Falls, there is now discussion about the companies that polluted the water there. St. Gobain was invited but Honeywell says it was not. “To the best of our knowledge, we did not receive a request to testify at the state Senate hearing,” Honeywell spokesperson Victoria Streitfeld said. “We remain responsive and cooperative and committed to addressing environmental conditions in the community.” Dina Pokedoff, a St. Gobain spokesperson, said the company was invited but was "unable" to send a representative. "We will continue to work with local, state and federal officials as much as possible so that the residents of Hoosick Falls can continue to access clean drinking water," the St. Gobain flack said. The company did have someone from its public relations firm, SKDKnickerbocker, in the Hoosick Falls audience. Now Manhattan-based State Sen. Brad Hoylman sent a letter to Sen. Tom O’Mara, chairman of the Senate's environmental conservation committee, and Sen. Kemp Hannon of Long Island, the co-chair, asking them to subpoena the companies at the two remaining water hearings. “The difficulty of a subpoena is it can simply result in standoffs from one side to the other,” Hannon has previously said of the issue. Read the full story in Politico New York.