DES reports progress on PFAS sampling, POET installations and water-line connections; asks for expanded groundwater monitoring

Chris Bandazian, meeting chair of the Legislative Study Commission for the Environmental and Health Impacts of PFAS chemicals, opened the commission’s March 13 meeting and invited an update from the Environmental Service Department.

Mike, a DES representative, told the commission that as of March 3, 2026 "835 POET systems have been installed and 808 of those had all the necessary sampling and confirmation, that they are complete," and that contractors have completed 36 municipal service connections (12 in Bedford, 23 in Merrimack) with one curb stop still requiring work. Bottled-water deliveries have been discontinued at properties that received connections, though Mike said one property extended the line to the house without hooking up plumbing and six properties did not respond to connection applications.

The DES representative said the groundwater management zone work plan—approved by the agency in January 2025—calls for six PFAS sample results per eligible property by the end of the calendar year. "As of March 4, the company has sampled approximately 1,603 properties that were eligible for monitoring under the work plan," Mike said, and the company expects to ramp up sampling in March to roughly 100–200 properties per month. DES said it has been receiving bimonthly status reports and that properties exhibiting exceedances of the drinking-water standard are issued bottled-water eligibility letters.

DES also reported ongoing work on remedial planning. The company completed additional site work in December 2025—including temporary monitoring wells and soil sampling—and has run two rounds of groundwater sampling on those temporary wells. Mike said the company will meet with DES after all data are received to discuss how the results will be incorporated into a remedial-plan addendum. In a February letter (referenced in the meeting), DES requested expanded groundwater monitoring this calendar year to evaluate potential changes in groundwater quality following demolition of the former facility and redevelopment of adjacent parcels.

Commission members raised community communication and technical questions. Commission member Lorraine urged DES to hold a public information meeting once sufficient resampling and data review are complete, saying residents face misinformation and would benefit from an evening session in a local school. "I think it would be really good timing to give a community info meeting because people ask questions here and there. There's misinformation out there," Lorraine said. Mike agreed and asked members to suggest an agenda that would address priorities across affected towns.

Gary, another commission member, asked which enforceable detection level the state uses. Mike answered that New Hampshire’s enforceable PFOA standard for public water systems is currently 12 parts per trillion, but he said EPA appears likely to adopt a 4 parts per trillion health-based standard and that state regulators will eventually have to adopt that standard to maintain primacy for public water-system oversight.

Why it matters: DES’s update provides the best public accounting to date in this meeting of how many in-home treatment systems have been installed and validated, how many properties have been sampled under the ground-water plan and what monitoring and remedial actions the company and DES plan to take next. The commission’s agreement to encourage community meetings signals a move to more public-facing outreach as sampling and data interpretation continue.

What’s next: DES said the company’s summary report—originally expected in April—was delayed and is now anticipated in June; members asked DES staff to follow up on outstanding items and to propose a public meeting agenda for community outreach.