January 18, 2019
PFAS Community Update
Bennington and North Bennington
Public Meeting on January 28, 2019
The Agency of Natural Resources will be holding a public meeting to share PFOA updates on
January 28, 2019
at the
Bennington Middle School cafeteria
from
5:30-7:30 pm
.
The primary purpose of the meeting is to provide updates on the ongoing negotiations between the State and Saint-Gobain for the eastside of Bennington and on the design of the proposed eastside waterline expansion. In addition, updates will be provided on the ongoing monitoring of water supply wells within the entire response area (west and east sides) and the sampling & maintenance of point-of-entry treatment systems (POETs).
Professors from Bennington College will also be at the meeting to discuss the progress they have been making on their research into the PFOA problem. There will be plenty of time after short presentations for questions and answers.
Status of Negotiations with Saint-Gobain about the East Side
Discussions between the State and Saint-Gobain are ongoing and progressing. A final settlement agreement is expected to be reached after the 85% design of the proposed water line extension, including cost estimates, is completed.
At this time, it is expected that a signed agreement and the completion and approval of the design will take place this Spring, which will allow construction contract(s) to be awarded so that water line extension work can begin this construction season.
Update on Long-term Drinking Water Remedy for Eastside
Process of Selecting a Remedy
Following the same process that was done for the westside, the Agency will evaluate several criteria when selecting a remedy or remedies:
- compliance with legal requirements;
- protection of human health and the environment;
- long-term effectiveness and permanence;
- reduction in toxicity, mobility, or volume of contamination through treatment;
- short-term effectiveness;
- implementability;
- cost;
- community acceptance.
The final design process is part of the information that the Agency considers when determining what the appropriate drinking water remedy is for a particular area. Where practicable, the Agency’s preferred remedy to address water supply wells contaminated with PFOA and other targeted PFAS is connecting impacted owners to a municipal water line given the certainty, stability, and predictability associated with a municipal water source.
However, connection to a municipal water system in some areas on the eastside may not be practicable for a variety of factors. For example, connecting one home at the end of a long water line may create water quality problems like harmful disinfection by-products because water may sit stagnant in the line.
We are now moving into the final phase of the design process. Over the next few months, eastside residents will be contacted by either engineers or the Agency, if not been already, about long-term drinking water solutions for your residence/business.
There will be many opportunities for occupants and property owners to discuss and ask questions. In addition, residents will be able to provide comments to the Agency, which the Agency will consider before making a final remedy determination for a given location or area.
Status of Design for Eastside Waterline Expansion
MSK Engineering, working for the town of Bennington at the request of the State of Vermont, has commenced work for the possible extension of Bennington municipal waterlines to areas on the eastside where water supply wells have been found to contain PFOA.
Residents in certain areas on and east of Harwood Hill Road (Route 7A) were sent letters in mid-December informing them that a representative from MSK Engineering would be reaching out to schedule individual property inspections in order to gather information to aid in the design and cost estimating process. Property inspections include a review of current internal plumbing, as well as identification of locations of the existing well and wastewater systems.
MSK will continue with these inspections through early February. Any resident who received a letter from MSK but has not scheduled an appointment for an inspection please call MSK at (802) 503-3858 or (802) 430-9668.
POET Sampling & Maintenance
POET Sampling and Maintenance continues, with Saint-Gobain’s contractor, CT Male, sampling the remaining POETs on the westside of Bennington (approximately a dozen) and the State’s contractor, Waite-Heindel, sampling the POETs on the eastside of Bennington (approximately 140), following the schedule and process outlined in the POET Operation and Maintenance Manual.
Update on Replacement Well activities in Corrective Action Area 1 Operational Unit B
(West Side of Bennington)
As stated in the last update, Saint-Gobain, as part of the Consent Order, agreed to explore replacing drinking water wells that are contaminated with PFOA at or above the State’s current standard of 20 ppt for PFOA with new, better constructed wells if investigations show the new wells are effective in reducing PFOA concentrations.
Six wells have been drilled and tested so far. Sampling results are encouraging. Saint-Gobain, through their contractor, has finished the installation of four replacement wells to the residence and are in the process of connecting the remaining two. Given the encouraging results of the initial six replacement wells, discussions are underway with Saint-Gobain to install more replacement wells.
Hopefully, these replacement wells are successful in providing clean drinking water to these impacted homes. If successful, these replacement wells will continue to be tested quarterly for two years. After that, the POETs will be removed.
Sampling of these wells will continue along with the long-term sampling schedule of all wells that are in the Area of Concern in this Corrective Action Area.
Spring Sampling of Drinking Water Well with PFOA levels below 20 ppt
Sampling of drinking water wells with PFOA levels below 20 ppt (wells without POETs on them in the response area) will continue, with the next round to take place next spring (March-April).
As with previous sampling results, you will be contacted by either Saint-Gobain’s or the State’s contractor if your well meets these conditions.
Clarendon:
Southern Vermont Regional Airport
The Vermont DEC and the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) worked together through the end of 2018 to sample water supplies (bedrock supply wells and springs) surrounding the Southern Vermont Regional Airport.
The sampling identified seven water supplies that required carbon treatment, including the Airport Business Park Water System. All treatment systems went online in 2018. Potable water is being provided to impacted residents and businesses and employees in the business park.
There were numerous water supplies, mostly to the east and south of the Airport, that had detections of PFAS in the water supplies. The DEC and VTrans will continue to sample these water supplies which are threatened by the PFAS contamination. In the meantime, bottled water has been offered by VTrans to the users of these threatened supply wells.
An annual summary report detailing the sampling of the drinking water supply wells can be found in the entry for the Airport in the Agency of Natural Resources Environmental Research Tool (ERT) or by
clicking here
.
A Site Investigation was completed at the Airport in 2018 and the report detailing the investigation is posted on the ERT and can also be accessed by
clicking here
.
The next steps include continued investigation to determine the degree and extent of the contaminated groundwater, continued sampling of threatened water supply wells, operation and maintenance (O&M) of the 7 treatment systems currently in operation, and the completion of a surface water investigation.
