Officials say permeable reactive barrier and monitoring have sharply reduced PFAS migration at former fire training site

Paul Rosala, identified in the transcript as the county assets and infrastructure manager, told the Cape Cod Regional Government Assembly of Delegates on Dec. 3 that county staff and consultants are making measurable progress addressing a PFAS release from a former municipal fire training facility. The county has completed a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) installation this year and is continuing Phase 2 site delineation to define the plume and its sources.

Rosala said the PRB project—funded in part with ARPA dollars—was finished in October and that the county is operating a groundwater pump-and-treat system and performing ongoing monitoring and required reporting under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP). "We have a groundwater pump and treat system that's currently active at the site," Rosala said, and noted the county carries budgets for operation, oversight, legal services and MassDEP fees.

John Paquin, the licensed site professional from consulting firm GZA, described the MCP's risk-based approach: "The goal of that plan is really to address the site as necessary to remove unacceptable risk," he said. GZA presented results from ecological and human-health sampling. The ecological risk assessment, Paquin said,…