Lexington representative: Maury Service Authority faces $15M in PFAS costs atop $60M modernization plan

Charles Alligood, Lexington’s representative to the Maury Service Authority board, told City Council on June 12 that recent engineering reviews and equipment problems have added new costs and urgency to long‑running modernization work at the MSA wastewater plant.

Alligood said the authority still plans the previously discussed plant modernization — an engineering estimate in the “60‑plus million” dollar range — and that a separate estimate to treat PFAS contamination runs between $15 million and $16 million. “That was the surprise that I know you all are all on your wallets firmly,” Alligood said, describing the $15 million figure presented to the board.

Why it matters: the two dollar amounts are not the same project. Alligood said none of the money already budgeted for plant modernization would cover PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) treatment; the PFAS equipment and disposal plans would be additional expense. He told council the authority is planning now rather than immediately spending the whole amount, because current wastewater PFAS sample results are low but not zero.

Key details reported by Alligood: - MSA has been moving to a preventive‑maintenance program after years without one; recently installed replacement motors began failing and the manufacturer is exchanging them, leaving the plant temporarily short on critical motors. - A previously anticipated $4.5 million low‑interest loan (with some principal forgiveness) to replace a large Route 11 water main had paused when federal funding slowed, but Alligood said bids were opened, a contractor selected and the project is moving again. - An engineering firm estimated PFAS remediation costs at between $15 million and $16 million. Options discussed include thermal destruction (pyrolysis) or drying and solidifying PFAS‑containing residuals for landfill disposal; EPA currently classifies PFAS as hazardous but has granted an exception allowing landfill disposal of treated material in some circumstances. - Sampled PFAS levels in the MSA wastewater outfall were described as “in the neighborhood of 14 to 20” (units not specified in the presentation); Alligood said 20 is the federal “magic number” being discussed and that the plant’s readings generally fell toward the lower end of that range.

Alligood said the PFAS work should be coordinated with planned modernization so existing large equipment replacements can be integrated with any new PFAS treatment equipment, and that doing both together avoids duplicate costs. He cautioned that while the PFAS expense is not necessarily an immediate cash outlay, the authority needs to plan for it and said “we're gonna have to deal with it.”

Council follow‑up and context: council members asked whether PFAS concerns affected biosolids land application. Alligood said biosolids currently contain detectable PFAS but at relatively low levels; the MSA is planning options in case land application must end, including landfilling or other approaches. He also said the authority has a credit rating and expects to be able to borrow when needed.

Ending: Alligood closed by offering to return monthly with updates; council thanked him for filling what one member called an “MSA black hole.” No formal council action on MSA funding was taken at the meeting.