Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Remedial Action Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State regulators press Saint‑Gobain for a more robust remedial action plan as sampling and water connections continue
Summary
DES told the commission Saint‑Gobain’s remedial action plan is not sufficiently robust and expects a revised plan later this year; DES also reported 846 POET systems installed, ongoing soil and groundwater reviews, and delays in outreach sampling for previously unsampled properties.
Chair Chris Bandeason convened the May 8 meeting of the New Hampshire Legislative Commission studying PFAS, where Department of Environmental Services (DES) staff said they remain unsatisfied with the remedial action plan (RAP) submitted for the plant site and are pressing Saint‑Gobain for a substantially revised proposal.
Michael, speaking for DES, said the agency received an updated groundwater summary and a soil-sampling work plan from Saint‑Gobain and will provide comments. “As of May 6, there have been 846 POET systems that have been installed, and about 832 of those have been confirmed and officially complete,” Michael said, citing current program tallies.
DES told the commission the original remedial action plan — submitted May 5, 2023, with an addendum on Feb. 9, 2024 — was found not to meet rule requirements; DES documented deficiencies in an Oct. 10, 2024 letter. Michael said Saint‑Gobain’s earlier position — that PFAS levels could not be reduced to ambient groundwater standards so remediation was not warranted — reflected “a fundamental misread of our rules.” He said DES expects a more robust RAP later this year.
Commissioners pressed DES for details and timelines. One member summarized a consultant’s statement that reductions to ambient standards were unlikely; DES replied the agency does not require return to ambient for every metric but said “even if we do a significant reduction, it would be better than…nothing,” and stressed that meaningful source control and soil remediation remain necessary.
DES also summarized on‑the‑ground progress: construction tied to municipal waterline extensions in Litchfield and Merrimack is largely complete with paving outstanding on Brenda Lane; the Hillcrest Road extension is done and Cinco Bayne (company name as reported in the transcript) has ceased bottled-water deliveries in that area. Michael said the company proposed expanding municipal waterline connections to about 350 properties on the west side of High Range Road and DES sent a May 4 letter requesting project milestones and estimated completion dates.
On sampling, DES said Saint‑Gobain began long‑term monitoring under an approved groundwater management plan and has sampled roughly 1,836 properties eligible under the revised work plan (including 147 sampled in April), but outreach to previously unsampled properties has lagged: “as of April 1, only 32 properties have reached out to [the contractor],” Michael said, so a summary report expected in April will be delayed until June.
Commission members and DES staff also discussed site‑specific investigations. Commissioners asked whether the plant slab itself could be a continuing source via runoff; Michael said lab slab cores were inconclusive and DES expects in‑field runoff testing during rain events in the coming months to assess that pathway.
The commission did not take formal action on the RAP at the meeting. Michael reiterated DES’s expectation that Saint‑Gobain will resubmit a substantially more robust remedial action plan later this year and encouraged members and residents who have independent data to share it with DES staff for review.
The commission’s next scheduled meeting will consider DES comments on the soil‑sampling work plan and links to each submitted report will be provided in the meeting notes.
