Airport seeks PFOS investigation funding, staff housing and targeted capital: trucks, hardstands and noise barrier

Airport Manager Noah (last name not specified) updated the Finance Committee on PFOS (PFAS-related) investigations under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan and on capital and staffing needs at Nantucket Memorial Airport.

Noah said the airport is in phase 3 of its MCP process and expects an interim report from consultants in the next six to eight months that will outline long-term remediation and monitoring. He requested borrowing authorization to continue investigation and response work and said PFAS remediation procurement and disposal are complex and costly.

On staffing, Noah emphasized staff housing as the most critical long-term retention tool, describing recent housing losses among staff and saying airport-controlled housing is essential to recruit and retain employees. He said phase 1 of an employee housing project was under construction and the airport is pursuing additional measures.

Capital requests flagged by the airport include replacement of a firefighting truck to avoid reuse of equipment contaminated by fluorinated aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), new hardstands for larger modern aircraft, a GSE (ground-support equipment) storage facility to protect high-value equipment from weather, a South Apron noise barrier project (rough conceptual cost estimate to be refined), and upgrades to sewage/grinder equipment to accept waste from larger aircraft.

Noah said many airport capital projects are eligible for federal or state grant funding, which significantly reduces the local sponsor share on large projects such as runway work. By contrast, housing is paid entirely by the airport and has a more immediate local funding impact. He also discussed early planning for future electrified air mobility (eVTOL) infrastructure and the likely need for third-party-built battery-storage facilities to support high charging loads.