Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the PFAS Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pembroke water officials say DES is pushing interconnection with Concord to address PFAS
Summary
Pembroke’s water superintendent reported the town remains dependent on state and Concord action to interconnect and blend water to lower PFAS levels, noting technical uncertainties about treatment, disposal of spent filters and available funding from grants and litigation settlements.
Kevin Rassley, the water superintendent and speaker in the meeting, told the Pembroke select board on June 3 that the town has not made measurable progress since last year on PFAS remediation and is awaiting action from the state and Concord. "We got something today from The DES that they're pushing ... to get our interconnection approved," Rassley said, describing the state agency's current priority for interconnections over other measures.
Rassley and agency staff described technical and cost challenges: current regulatory limits were read as 15 parts-per-trillion (ppt) and proposed new limits near 4 ppt with an implementation horizon currently set for 2029 (potentially pushed to 2031). Staff said disposal of spent filter media and destruction technologies remain under testing and carry uncertain costs; one participant said, "You'll never eradicate it... It's gonna be in the ground forever," reflecting the limited options for eliminating PFAS from subsurface sources.
Officials reported about $10.5 million in bonding requests ready to deploy for interconnection work, with roughly $4.5 million identified as grant/forgiveness or litigation-derived funds (including settlement money from DuPont) that would not require local repayment. Staff advised that physical interconnection studies are complete and that final legal and billing terms will be determined after Concord's city council places the matter on its agenda and approves an intermunicipal agreement.
