Water at MA Training Academy Tainted; Cleanup Ordered

HYANNIS — Groundwater in a section of the Barnstable County Fire and Rescue Training Academy has more than 3,000 times the level of a "chemical of emerging concern" than allowed by a federal health advisory for drinking water.

And state environmental officials are asking county officials what they plan to do to clean it up.

The property at the end of South Flint Rock Road, north of Barnstable Municipal Airport, is not close to any homes, and the level of contamination on site is far above what has been detected in nearby town wells. But in an Aug. 4 notice, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection asked the county to submit a comprehensive cleanup plan by Sept. 15.

In the interim, Barnstable County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to request a transfer of $200,000 from existing accounts to fund an initial cleanup operation. The request, in the form of an ordinance, will be forwarded to the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates for approval in September.

Half of the money will be used to clean up the most contaminated area on the academy property, while half will be used toward litigation costs associated with a lawsuit filed against the county in July by the town of Barnstable, County Administrator John “Jack” Yunits said.

On Thursday, Yunits, Cape Cod Commission Director of Water Resources Thomas Cambareri and county Director of Facilities Stephen Tebo toured the academy property, including the most contaminated area, called a “hot spot,” which covers approximately 400 square feet in a wetland buffer zone bordering Flint Rock Pond.

Recent testing of groundwater at the parcel found a concentration of 220 parts per billion of PFOS — a perflourinated compound, according to Cambareri. In May, the EPA lowered the federal health advisory threshold for PFOS to .07 parts per billion. PFOS is commonly found in firefighting foams, like those that were used at the academy prior to 2009.

Once the funding is available, and the county receives approval from the Barnstable Conservation Commission, approximately 200 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be excavated from the “hot spot,” dug 10-12 feet deep, and disposed of at a lined landfill in Taunton.

The work would likely take up to two weeks, and he would like the project completed by the end of September, Tebo said.

The cash-strapped regional government may have to recoup the cleanup and litigation expenditures with yet-to-be-determined reductions in county services, Yunits said.

The county has already undertaken efforts to fix the problem, including installing a “pump and treat” system last summer to remove chemicals from well water on the property.

“It’s important to get the message out that we’ve been working on this (the cleanup),” said Yunits.

County leaders have consistently suggested that other sources of PFOS, including the nearby Barnstable Municipal Airport and industrial operations in the area, may have contributed to the contamination, but Yunits said assigning blame is not his focus right now.

“We own the property,” he said. “It’s not a question of admitting or assigning liability, it’s a question of what we need to do under the law.”

In July, the town of Barnstable filed a lawsuit against Barnstable County seeking $2 million in damages for contamination of the Hyannis wells Barnstable officials contend was caused by pollutants from the academy. Last week, Barnstable officials said they would be asking the Barnstable Town Council for an additional $1.1 million to enclose carbon treatment units at affected wells near the academy to protect them from winter weather conditions.

A health advisory warning pregnant women, nursing mothers and infants not to drink the water in Hyannis was in effect from late-May until early-July, after the EPA lowered its advisory threshold for perfluorinated compounds. While the advisory was in effect, the town made bottled water available to residents free of charge.

The water supplied by the Hyannis water system is currently safe to consume and use, according to town officials.

According to the DEP notice sent to the county, long-term exposure to PFOS can result in developmental effects on fetuses, testicular and kidney cancer, liver tissue damage, antibody production effects and thyroid issues.

The county is prepared for the cleanup effort, County Commissioner Leo Cakounes said.

“It’s not like this was unforeseen or unanticipated,” he said. “We knew the DEP letter was coming.”

— Follow Geoff Spillane on Twitter: @GSpillaneCCT

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©2016 Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

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