PFAS in the Town Hall Area

The next PFAS Information Session has yet to be scheduled.

PFAS in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts final report of the PFAS Interagency task Force April 2022

Overview

The Town Hall campus well is a “Transient Non-Community Public Water System (PWS)” and was tested in September 2019. The results showed levels of PFAS6 (definition below) above the Commonwealth’s Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) which at the time was 70 ppt (parts per trillion). Test results were submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Water Supply program by our water supply operator. DEP’s Waste Site Cleanup program contacted the Town in November 2019 and communicated its determination that the detection of PFAS was subject to Chapter 21E, and DEP directed the Town to conduct an Immediate Response Action (IRA), including testing of private water supplies on properties in the area of the Town Hall campus. You can access the information related to this release on the MDEP website using the Release Tracking Number 2-0021072.

The Selectboard engaged the environmental consulting firm Tighe and Bond, and their Licensed Site Professional (LSP) Jeff Arps, and environmental attorney Barry Fogel, to assist in addressing the PFAS issue and complying with DEP’s requirements.

Under the IRA plan approved by DEP, the Town regularly tests all potable wells in the affected area; provides POETS (point of entry treatment systems) to those homes with PFAS6 levels at or above 20 ppt; and offers bottled water or a single vessel POET to those homes with detectable levels below 20 ppt.

The Town holds public information sessions after each Status or IRA Plan Report is submitted to DEP so that residents have an opportunity to hear an update by our LSP and ask questions.

As part of the work required by DEP’s regulations, the LSP is required to develop a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) about the possible source(s) of this contamination. The following CSM statement is from the latest IRA Plan Report:

“Apart from potential sources of PFAS at residences in the area, such as historical discharges of domestic water that contained PFAS to septic systems, potential sources in the vicinity of upper and lower Mountain Road currently include: (1) the use of AFFF during the firefighting efforts at 30 Mountain Road in May 2017, and (2) the reported major fire at 54 Mountain Road in 1967 where it is possible AFFF was used to fight the fire. DEP also has identified “atmospheric deposition” as a general source of PFAS.

The Town engaged special counsel to represent Princeton and file a suit on our behalf in Federal court as part of the Multi-District Litigation against companies that designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, and/or sold PFAS.

If you have any questions after reading the information on this page, please contact Town Administrator Sherry Patch.

For those residents who want to read more about the PFAS problems and the Town’s action, we provide additional information below:

What Does DEP Require of Princeton?

DEP’s comprehensive regulations under Chapter 21E, 310 CMR 40.0000, also known as the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP), govern how the Town must proceed. The first step in the Town’s response was to engage a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) to manage the process. Jeffrey Arps of Tighe & Bond, our LSP, filed an Immediate Response Action Plan (IRA) with DEP. The IRA lays out the steps the Town will take to manage the situation.

There are five (5) phases to the MCP:

Phase I – (submitted November 9, 2020). Initial Site Assessment and Tier Classification (site is Tier I due to drinking water impacts)
Phase II – (submitted November 11, 2023). Define vertical and horizontal extent of PFAS in all media (soil, groundwater, surface water, air), risk characterization
Phase III – due November 2024. Evaluation of remedial alternatives
Phase IV – due with Phase III. Plan to implement remedy selected in Phase III
Phase IV Completion/Phase V – due November 2025. Document remedy completion

The IRA runs parallel to the “phase” process with no deadlines of its own other than regular IRA Status Reports submitted to DEP. Note that sites can be closed at any time during this process with a Permanent Solution or Temporary Solution.

We are currently in Phase V even as we are conducting the IRA.

What is Happening in Phase V?

POETs were determined to be the most effective remedy at this time. Our LSP will continue to test and the Town will continue to install POETs as needed. The LSP will continue to monitor the science and industry, looking for a potential remedy that is more effective than POETs. The LSP will continue to report to DEP.

MassDEP Electronically Submitted Forms

For a full list of forms that were submitted to MassDEP by our LSP and responses from MassDEP, see https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/portal/dep/wastesite/viewer/2-0021072

KEY FILINGS MASSDEP (most recent first)

3/10/2025: Immediate Response Action Plan Status Report No. 11

11/12/24: Phase III Identification and Selection of Comprehensive Remedial Action Alternatives and Phase IV Remedy Implementation Plan

11/13/2023: Phase II Comprehensive Site Assessment Report

11/5/2020: Phase I initial Site Investigation and Tier Classification

1/3/2020: Release Notification and Immediate Response Action Plan

11/25/2019: Notice of Responsibility

Proper Disposal Method for Used POET Sediment Pre-Filters

Our LSP has informed us that the sediment filters are not being used to filter out PFAS. Typical PFAS molecules have a maximum diameter of 0.002 micron, which is four orders of magnitude smaller than the pore openings of 5 microns in the sediment pre-filters that EPA and DEP recognize remove sediment particles and extend the life of the granulated activated carbon (GAC) filters designed to remove PFAS from water. With PFAS molecules passing through these sediment pre-filters, they are properly disposed of in the standard manner as solid waste.