Jefferson County, NY
The federal environmental record for Jefferson County (population 114,787): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
2
Superfund NPL sites
5
federal cleanup sites
3
PFAS-detecting water systems
7
TRI facilities
20
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black River PCBs | Town of Champion | on the NPL | 09/29/2010 |
| Crown Cleaners of Watertown, Inc. | Carthage | on the NPL | 09/05/2002 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Jefferson with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| WATERTOWN CITY NY2202346 | PFOA: 7.3 ng/L PFHxS: 3.9 ng/L | above final limit |
| FORT DRUM NY2212214 | 6:2 FTS: 26 ng/L PFPeA: 25 ng/L PFHxA: 13 ng/L | detected |
| LERAY TOWN WD 2 & 4 NY2221206 | PFBS: 14 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
7 facilities in Jefferson filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 124k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| US ARMY FORT DRUM | FORT DRUM | Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds | 112k lb |
| GREAT LAKES CHEESE OF NY INC. | ADAMS | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 6k lb |
| HP HOOD LLC | LAFARGEVILLE | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 4k lb |
| SLACK CHEMICAL CO. INC. | CARTHAGE | Ammonia, Methanol | 1k lb |
| KNOWLTON TECHNOLOGIES LLC | WATERTOWN | Methanol, Phenol | 480 lb |
| OX SPECIALTY PAPER LLC | WEST CARTHAGE | Lead | 27 lb |
| GOLD STAR FEED & GRAIN | ADAMS CENTER | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 458 tank facilities in Jefferson: 313 tanks in service and 1,328 closed. 348 fuel releases are on record, of which 20 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Jefferson as Zone 2, moderate predicted indoor radon (2 to 4 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Jefferson, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- BLACK RIVER PCBSTOWN OF CHAMPION
- CROWN CLEANERS OF WATERTOWN INC.CARTHAGE
- DEFERIET PAPER CODEFERIET
- FORMER ISLAND PAPER CO.CARTHAGE
- FORT DRUMWATERTOWN