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Mass. DEP highlights PFAS response, brownfields projects and grants at virtual coffee hour
Summary
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection staff reviewed FY25 cleanup work — including PFAS responses at private wells, brownfields redevelopment, audits and grant programs — and urged LSPs and consultants to share barriers to housing redevelopment linked to site cleanup.
Assistant Commissioner Millie Garcia Serrano opened a virtual Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) coffee hour on Sept. 21, 2025, summarizing the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 cleanup work and priorities, with an emphasis on PFAS response, brownfields redevelopment and funding programs.
The session matters because MassDEP's cleanup decisions affect drinking-water protections, redevelopment opportunities and state and federal funding priorities. Staff described recent on-the-ground actions, regulatory coordination on PFAS, and requests for technical input from licensed site professionals to ease housing redevelopment where environmental obstacles remain.
MassDEP staff said the bureau supported dozens of PFAS responses across the state in FY25. "Through your diligent work, we've been able to eliminate PFAS hazards at 76 private wells," Millie Garcia Serrano said, adding that immediate response steps included bottled water and installation of sampling/access ports where concentrations met the response threshold described in MassDEP guidance. PFAS coordinator John Ziegler confirmed federal action on two maximum contaminant levels (MCLs): "4 parts per trillion for each," he said of PFOA and PFOS. MassDEP staff said the agency is coordinating internally so site-cleanup (waste site) and drinking-water programs use the same endpoints as federal guidance evolves.
Staff described active PFAS work at regional and federal sites. Central Region has created a dedicated PFAS section; Southeast Region sampled about 103 Nantucket properties under a site-discovery program and worked with the town and local water departments to extend public water connections where possible. Millie Garcia Serrano and regional staff said MassDEP also oversees PFAS investigations at multiple Department of Defense installations and at some Superfund sites and is collaborating with EPA on removal actions and a possible National Priorities List (NPL) package.
On brownfields and redevelopment, statewide Brownfields Coordinator Dave Foss reported roughly 20 brownfields projects either complete or underway and said the agency supported five Brownfields roundtables. MassDEP awarded five technical-assistance grants totaling about $100,000 to support local brownfields work, staff said. In Western Region MassDEP highlighted a redevelopment project in Montague involving Habitat for Humanity as developer.
Natural Resource Damages (NRD) work and settlements were also discussed. Staff credited Michelle Craddock for federal engagement that led to a $2.1 million settlement at the Chepac Landfill Superfund site, which staff described as part of ongoing NRD activity.
MassDEP's audits and compliance work remain substantial. The agency reported completing more than 2,100 audits in FY25 across level-1, -2 and -3 scopes, and staff said the audit program supports the state's privatized site-cleanup system.
The Bureau also manages the MOSBRA oil-spill prevention and response program and issued 15 MOSBRA grants in FY25 totaling about $692,000; staff said another grant cycle will open soon.
Staff asked the LSP and consultant audience for input on site-cleanup obstacles that hinder housing redevelopment. David (Dave) Foss said he is collecting examples of projects where environmental issues ' such as vapor intrusion, groundwater or other cleanup uncertainties ' have prevented a change of use from industrial to residential and requested contacts and project details for a policy-level review.
Other business included an update that proposed changes to Licensed Site Professional (LSP) board regulations have been forwarded up the EEA chain for review, and a brief mention of a Trails Access for All working group, in which MassDEP participates, that is exploring improvements to make certain trails accessible to people with mobility or sensory disabilities.
MassDEP staff said they are tracking federal PFAS actions and plan a fuller briefing at the department's advisory committee meeting in November. The agency also urged attendees to watch for a proposed PFAS omnibus bill and for forthcoming policy releases and guidance updates.
The coffee hour concluded with a reminder of the hybrid November meeting and a preview of a soils presentation on the South Coast rail/soil management effort involving AECOM and VHB.
