Read the full article by Lucas Thors (MV Times)
“The Martha’s Vineyard Airport is in the process of finalizing a proposed $136,000 insurance settlement that would cover legal expenses and investigative costs related to the discovery of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS is a chemical found in aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) used in putting out aircraft fires.
The fluorinated firefighting foams that have been used at private and public airports like Martha’s Vineyard for decades were the only foams that met certain standards required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In late November of 2019, Tetra Tech, the environmental consulting firm engaged by the airport to investigate private wells that could contain the chemical, finished phase one of its initial site investigation (ISI).
Since February of 2019, Tetra Tech engineers were installing activated carbon filtration systems for private wells that contained high levels of PFAS, and continued to monitor those wells periodically.
In February, the airport entered into a multi-district lawsuit against AFFF manufacturers, in order to recoup remediation costs involved with testing more than 100 wells in the affected area, among other associated costs.
Now, the airport hopes to recoup expenses related to the investigative efforts by Tetra Tech, and the legal fees involved with the most recent litigation.
Airport commission chair Bob Rosenbaum clarified at a Thursday meeting that the insurance settlement with Chubb Insurance would not cover remediation costs.
Rosenbaum said he is confident the airport can pursue other avenues to pay for the remediation costs…”