April 12, 2019
PFAS Community Update
Bennington and North Bennington
Agreement Reached with Saint-Gobain
On April 10, 2019, the State announced a final agreement with Saint-Gobain for the properties on Bennington’s east side affected by perfluooctanoic acid (PFOA)
contamination. As part of the agreement, 245 homes on the east side of Bennington are eligible to receive municipal water service. In total, the State has now secured the extension of waterlines to 470 homes or businesses in Bennington and North Bennington.
Waterline engineering and design will be finalized this spring. As with the waterlines on the west side, this is anticipated to be a two-year construction period. Residents not getting connected to waterlines will either receive a new well or continue to have their treatment systems maintained until their wells are no longer contaminated.
Under this final settlement, which builds upon the agreement the State and Saint-Gobain reached in 2017, Saint-Gobain will directly fund a significant portion of the waterline extensions and be responsible for long-term monitoring, the drilling of replacement wells, and the long-term operations and maintenance of in-home treatment systems. Waterline work in the east side of the Town of Bennington is estimated at $20 to $25 million. Pending final budget approval, the State has agreed to commit $4.7 million to extend waterlines to the maximum extent feasible.
The settlement agreement will be open for a 30-day public comment period.
Residents can access the settlement agreement, as well as a fact sheet summarizing the terms of the agreement,
here
.
Open House about Settlement Agreement
Department of Environmental Conservation staff will be available from
1 – 7 p.m. on Monday, April 15 and 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2019
at:
Vermont Department of Health Bennington Office
342 Main Street
Bennington, VT 05201
During those open house periods interested community members are encouraged to stop by to speak with state officials about the agreement, the upcoming the waterline construction, and next steps to determine long-term remedies for areas that will not be receiving public waterlines.
POET Sampling & Maintenance
POET Sampling and Maintenance continues, with Saint-Gobain’s contractor, CT Male, sampling the remaining POETs on the west side of Bennington (approximately a dozen) and State’s contractor sampling the POETs on the eastside of Bennington (approximately 140). With the new agreement, Saint-Gobain will take over POET sampling and maintenance for the eastside.
Spring Sampling of Drinking Water Wells 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) continues, with the next round taking place this month.
As with previous sampling results, you will be contacted, if you have not been already, by either Saint-Gobain’s or the State’s contractor if your well meets these conditions.
