October 2018
PFAS Community Update
Bennington and North Bennington
Public Meeting on October 17
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation will be holding a public meeting to discuss current updates on the PFOA problem in Bennington on
October 17, 2018
at the
Bennington Middle School cafeteria
from
6-8 pm
. Please notice the change in venue to the Bennington Middle School located on East Road in Bennington.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the status of the water line work on the west side of Bennington, negotiation status between the State and Saint-Gobain, and current status of corrective action on the east side of Bennington.
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.
Discussions with Saint-Gobain ongoing about the East Side
At this time discussions between the State and Saint-Gobain are ongoing with a goal of reaching a settlement to achieve voluntary corrective actions on the east side of Bennington.
Work on the west side, including water line installation, well replacement where water lines were not installed, point-of-entry treatment system (POET) maintenance, is ongoing and Saint-Gobain has been implementing the Consent Order.
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 the State’s contractor, Waite-Heindel, sampling the POETs on the east side of Bennington (approximately 140), following the schedule and process outlined in the POET Operation and Maintenance Manual. This Manual can be referenced on the DEC’s web page at
http://dec.vermont.gov/commissioners-office/pfoa/communities.
Results of these sampling events continue to be sent to homeowners as they become available.
Update on Replacement Well activities in Corrective Action Area 1 Operational Unit B
(West Side of Bennington)
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.
In the six wells tested so far, the results look promising. Saint-Gobain, through their contractor, has finished the installation of its first replacement well and begun construction on the second one. Initial sampling results from the first completed well are pending.
Work on the second home in this area is underway and should be completed within the next week or so. Stay tuned to find out if 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, 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.
Fall Sampling of Drinking Water Wells
Sampling of drinking water wells with PFOA levels below 20 ppt (wells without POETs on them in the Area of Concern) will begin before the end of the month. Please be prepared to be contacted by either Saint-Gobain’s or the State’s contractor if your well meets these conditions. Sampling will be completed in November and the results of this sampling event will be sent to individual homeowners once they become available.
Clarendon:
Southern Vermont Regional Airport
Public Meeting
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Vermont Agency of Transportation will be at the Clarendon Selectboard Meeting on Monday October 8, 2018.
The meeting starts at 6:00 pm and will be held at the Clarendon Grange Hall located at the intersection of Moulton Avenue and Grange Hall Road in Clarendon. DEC staff will update the Town on the sampling of bedrock supply wells, as well as the recently completed site investigation. A question and answer session will follow.
Well Testing Results on Airport Road
DEC has recently completed testing of private wells along Airport Road and resampled wells along Route 7B Central and Gorge Road. In total, 74 bedrock supply wells have been sampled as well as 4 springs. PFAS was detected in 24 wells with 8 wells exceeding the Drinking Water Health Advisory (DWHA).
DEC will sample new wells on an as-needed basis as new information is received. POET systems have been installed on 3 of the 5 residences, and the POETS are being installed in the two remaining residences. The water in these residences had PFAS levels above the DWHA. There is also one agricultural well that has a POET in operation. The Rutland Airport Business Park treatment system is currently in operation and the water at the Business Park is once again safe to drink. The ‘Do Not Drink’ Order for the Business Park was lifted on September 1, 2018.
