Westminster PFAS contamination remediation moving forward, but with some obstacles

Editor's Note: This article was initially published with several factual errors due to errors in reporting by the author. They have since been corrected.

Mass Natural Fertilizer Company's (MNF) legal and environmental consultants updated Westminster residents affected by the ongoing remediation plan to clean up over 200 private wells contaminated with the forever chemicals PFAS6 (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

At the virtual public meeting on Aug. 9, held by Lessard Environmental Inc. (LEI), an environmental consulting firm based in Salem, and Boston law firm Lawson & Weitzen, attorney George Hailer summarized the Immediate Response Action (IRA) status reports submitted to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. They also explained what is happening with residents who refuse water testing and Point of Entry Treatment (POET) installation, and informed residents on the next steps of the remediation action plan and the efforts to continue to study the contaminated area.

How the PFAS6 was initially discovered

A resident from Bean Porridge Hill Road discovered PFAS6 during a routine water test on a private water well in January 2022. The test was through a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection certified private commercial water testing lab, which notified MassDEP immediately. MassDEP notified MNF, located at 65 Bean Porridge Hill Road, and nearby property owner Otter Farm about the exposure at MNF's compost facility

The compost at the facility leaked PFAS6 into the groundwater system, which eventually contaminated neighboring private wells. In March 2022, water test results showed dozens of private water wells had PFAS levels that were 50 times what state regulations consider safe to drink.

Now 261 homes have been identified to be in the study area. Of those 261 homes only 177 homes have required POET systems, which were installed.

What happens if someone does not want to have their potentially contaminated well tested?

In the past year, several Westminster residents on Bean Porridge Hill Road and other neighboring streets have denied LEI access to their property so no POET system can be installed, nor can any well water testing be done.

At the Aug. 9 meeting, LEI and Lawson & Weitzen said that they are working with MassDEP to determine a procedure when access to a potentially contaminated well has been denied by the homeowner.

Have the PFOS and the sulfur odor issues been resolved?

In addition to cleaning up the PFAS contamination, MNF and their consultants found solutions to two water issues that were raised in September and November 2022.

In September 2022, low levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were found in 65 of 125 homes tested after the POET was installed. PFOS is one of the six chemical compounds that make up the PFAS6 family.

Lessard said they discovered the PFOS was coming from the coated glass tube in the UV system of the POET system. The PFOS was detected after the water was filtered through the installed POET system. After several months of observing the filtration system, they noticed the PFOS level declined on its own and only 12 private wells tested positive for PFOS in June.

In November 2022, 50 residents complained that their water had a yellow or orange color and a strong odor. LEI reported that the odd smell and color were likely a result of the oxygen-poor groundwater. In these conditions, bacteria can generate sulfur compounds that have an unpleasant odor.

With the approval of MassDEP, these residences will have the option to schedule an installation of additional filtration to improve their well water quality.

More: Private wells in Westminster contaminated with carcinogens

Study area continues at compost facility

The PFAS contamination study area is continuing to grow. Lessard said LEI has tested 21 Fitchburg residences on Victoria Lane. Only one home tested positive for PFAS, and a POET system was installed shortly thereafter.

Lessard said LEI will continue to observe the study area and they have created a plan focusing on groundwater treatment and research.

Lessard explained what the environmental consulting team needs to improve their observation of the ever-changing study area so they can eventually figure out the source of the PFAS6 that contaminated the compost facility.

In order to protect groundwater streams from being further contaminated, the LEI consulting team proposed to capture groundwater from the compost facility in the areas labeled MW-5 and BRMW-5 before the groundwater flows into the nearest freshwater stream.

Lessard said the method they plan to use to capture and prevent further impact on groundwater is called high-vacuum total fluids extraction (HVTFE). HVTFE does not rely on a down-well pump method, and it reduces the amount of drawdown.

In the modified IRA plan, LEI proposed to build a permanent water sample station for three manmade bodies of water at 65 Bean Porridge Hill Road. Quarterly surface water testing will occur at the three bodies of water.

Lessard said this water sample station will help them figure out where surface water flows from the facility and if it impacts the groundwater.

LEI awaits pending approval from MassDEP before they can move forward with their groundwater research and treatment. After MassDEP grants them approval, the environmental consultant team has to wait for town permits from Westminster's Board of Health, Conservation Commission, Building Department and the Electrical Department before building the water sample station or installing the HVTFE.

More: Contaminated well area continues to expand; new problems identified

What's going to happen to the two piles of leftover compost?

For over a year, two large piles of compost materials were left untouched due to a MassDEP order for the facility to stop operations until further notice. LEI has submitted an IRA plan modification request to MassDEP to remove the two piles of uncovered compost materials left behind after operations at the MNF facility stopped in March 2022.

Hailer said Lessard and his team are waiting for their proposed modification request to be reviewed by MassDEP. He said the piles of compost materials cannot be covered until they get a decision from MassDEP.

"Lessard is in constant communication with the DEP and the town about the present and future of the disposal area and its remediation action plan," Hailer said.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Westminster private well contamination update by Lessard Environmental