On Aug. 19, the fire suppression system in hangar four went off, discharging more than a thousand gallons of foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. (Photo by AnnMarie Hilton/ Maine Morning Star)
The Brunswick town council formally called on the state and the development authority that oversees Brunswick Executive Airport on Tuesday night to remove all forever chemical-laden firefighting foam from the premises after an accidental discharge last month.
On Aug. 19, the fire suppression system in hangar four went off, discharging more than a thousand gallons of foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, which have been linked to serious long-term health problems including cancer, weakened immune systems, developmental issues, and more.
In a resolution the council approved Tuesday night, its members outlined specific asks of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), which runs the airport, as well as the state Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Legislature and the governor.
While not binding, the resolution requests these entities work together to disable the existing PFAS-based Aqueous Film Forming Foam, known as AFFF, in hanger six by the end of the month, and all other hangers with this foam as soon as possible.
The U.S. Navy had planned to remove the foam from hangar four this month, which is still scheduled as some foam remains in that hangar. According to the DEP, thousands of gallons remain at the airport, including in hangar six, which is not scheduled to have its foam removed.
PFAS-laden firefighting foam spill reinvigorates calls for proactive government response
Council member James Ecker warned Tuesday that the spill could have been worse if it occurred in hangar six, which is located closer to the Brunswick Topsham Water District wellfield.
The site’s ownership history has complicated who is on the hook to clean up PFAS-related contamination. The airport is a former naval base, transferred to MRRA’s control after being decommissioned in 2011. Forever chemical contamination had been well-documented before August’s spill, occurring through equipment and human error as well as on-base fire training prior to 2011.
Along with wanting immediate removal of the foam, the council wants a clearer understanding of the extent of its presence. The resolution asks MRRA and the Maine DEP to provide the town with a detailed inventory of remaining PFAS-contaminated AFFF stored in Brunswick Landing, the community in and around the airport.
Communication
In addition to establishing a removal plan to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen again, the resolution calls for improved information sharing with residents and businesses in Brunswick Landing after several criticized what they considered insufficient communication following the latest spill.
Specifically, the resolution asks for MRRA and DEP to provide the town with a detailed plan for immediate public notice in the event of any releases of hazardous substances at the airport that could threaten public health or the environment, as well as to make all water and soil sampling results available immediately.
Kristine Logan, executive director of MRRA, said during the meeting that decontamination has been completed in hangar four and its immediate surroundings. The nearby ponds are continuing to be cleaned, though Logan said the foam is diminishing each day.
Sampling is ongoing, Logan said. The DEP has confirmed that the public water supply at Brunswick Landing remains safe to drink but initial tests found high levels of forever chemicals in ponds, in some areas over the federal drinking water standard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set this spring.
The area had a long history with forever chemical contamination prior to the latest spill.
The spill on Monday is at least the third since MRRA took over the airport. Separately, there is documentation of forever chemical contamination in the groundwater and soil surrounding the airport linked to its operations as a former military base. In late August, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned against eating fish from waters near the airport due to PFAS levels before the latest spill.
Residents with private wells not selected for DEP testing have voiced concerns about the costs of testing, as a single test can be hundreds of dollars. The DEP is considering reimbursement requests from some local homeowners.
Maine Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) said ahead of the meeting that the resolution outlines the kind of strict accountability that he believes is necessary to guard against future disasters.
“The resolution provides the Brunswick legislative delegation with a clear sense of direction,” Ankeles said, “and also shows other legislators and the executive branch what our local government wants at the state level in the short and medium terms.”
Ankeles supported the addition of the state Legislature to the resolution during Tuesday’s meeting, adding that he gave the chair of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee a tour of the spill site days after the spill. “They know this is coming,” Ankeles said broadly of plans for legislative action.
On the state level, Ankeles and his counterpart representing Brunswick in the Maine Senate, Democrat Mattie Daughtry, are continuing to refine a letter to Gov. Janet Mills, which Ankeles said will call for state assistance to clean up the recent spill as well as preventative measures to prevent such an incident from happening again.
Airport oversight
The resolution largely focuses on the recent spill and shoring up protections to prevent recurrence. It also calls for more information about MRRA’s environmental strategies for the airport — such as its hazardous waste exposure mitigation plan, expenditures for hazardous material response, and insurance policies related to environmental releases and pollution.
While requesting this information, the resolution does not address the future governance structure of MRRA and its relationship to the state and the town, a key point of contention heightened by the latest spill.
Ahead of the resolution vote, Logan of MRRA said, “you’re not going to get pushback from MRRA. I want it to be clear that we’re not, we’ve never said we like having AFFF in our hangars.”
Logan said she’s been working toward finding alternatives since she assumed her role two years ago but that the National Fire Protection Association sets the standards.
“I’m just trying to say we’re on the same thought process, that we don’t want to have the AFFF in there, but we’ve been operating under what the rules say and I don’t want to take it out without having a replacement,” Logan said, “because then we can’t use the hangars and that will shut down the airport.”
Council member Elizabeth Beck urged those voting to consider human health and safety as the bottom line.
“I don’t have any patience for this to be, ‘Well what’s the most cost-effective,’” Beck said. “This has to be what we discuss tonight is, ‘What is the right thing to do?’ If it means that it’s going to fundamentally change how MRRA is structured and who actually owns and runs the airport — so be it.”
Concerns about MRRA were also raised by residents during a previous meeting on Aug. 29.
“Why are we being reactive instead of being proactive like we should have done when MRRA initially took the base over?” Brunswick resident Cody Gillis asked during public comment. “It seems to me like this was a ticking time bomb that something was going to happen. I feel like MRRA should bear at least some of this responsibility for, honestly, this environmental disaster.”
The U.S. EPA placed the airport on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in 1987. Another resident, Steve Hodge, said there are success stories with the clean up of other Superfund sites that can be looked to, such as his hometown of Athens, Georgia.
Economy and ecology come from the same Greek word Oikos, Hodge explained, which means “house.”
“Why can’t our economy and our ecological concerns be in concert with one another?” Hodge asked. “The way I see it now, we need to get our households in order.”
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