Benner Township residents want expanded water testing from PA’s environmental agency
It was standing room only in the Benner Township Municipal Building on Tuesday evening, where the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held a public hearing on its response to water contamination in the area.
The hearing was an opportunity for residents to comment on the DEP’s response to finding Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) that have contaminated the groundwater. PFAS are widely used, long-lasting chemicals, and its components break down very slowly over time, according to the EPA.
While research is ongoing, exposure to high levels of the man-made chemicals may be harmful, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Studies have found links to exposure to certain levels of PFAS and developmental delays in children, increased risk of some cancers, reproductive effects and more.
Two compounds detected contaminating the groundwater in a neighborhood around University Park Airport were perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in combination at a level at or above the 70 parts per trillion EPA Health Advisory Level. During the hearing, the DEP said new interim health advisory limits were recently issued that are much more stringent, and the state agency didn’t indicate whether the new guidelines will change the response.
The interim response included providing bottled drinking water to about 10 residential areas impacted. The DEP has proposed installation of whole-house filtration systems on the impacted private residential water supplies.
Residents critical of response, call for expanded testing
Though only six people of the more than 50 in attendance spoke, their messages were the same: a better response is needed.
Terry Cable, a Benner Township resident, had a list of questions and concerns for the DEP, including why many residents are still waiting for their well test results in order to access the interim response resources, like bottled water and a filtration system. Some residents aren’t included in the DEP’s current efforts, he said.
“Because of the changing standards at the federal and state levels, the variability of test results and PA DEP’s current inability to provide prompt test results for the residents, it seems reasonable to offer this interim response to all residents within the newly expanded Benner Township PFAS investigation area,” Cable said.
The investigation area is bounded in the north by Buffalo Run Road, in the west by Bernel Road, in the south by Big Hollow Road and in the east by Rock Road/Barns Lane. The potential source investigation area is centered around the University Park Airport and different industries located to the north, along High Tech Road, according to a map presented by DEP.
Within the investigation area, 14 of 58 water samples came back with a concentration of PFOA and PFOA about 70 parts per trillion. Ten residential houses were impacted and did not have effective water treatment that could filter the compounds out.
Bottled water has been provided to those houses, and DEP is in the process of having an effective water system installed, John Ciccone, of DEP, said.
“Additionally, we have sent out letters to potential responsible parties, asking them to provide information on any activities or processes that may have taken place on their property that could release PFAS into the environment,” Ciccone said.
Concerns about the updated EPA health advisory level guidelines were touched on, too. About two weeks ago, the EPA issued new interim health advisory limits for PFOA and PFOS, which are 0.004 parts per trillion and 0.02 parts per trillion, respectively.
David Roberts, Benner Township resident, said that interim health advisory limits should be adopted in Benner Township so more people qualify.
“There is an evident need for water treatment systems to be provided at all water supply wells within this impacted … community and the local commercial sites when the contamination levels are now viewed through the lens of these new EPA guidelines,” Roberts said. “PFAS testing must be expedited and expanded. Local residents have been exposed to toxic levels of PFAS for years, if not decades, and a more prompt, prompt response is needed.”
Further, he called on the DEP and Benner Township to assure that Penn State mitigates the issue quickly. After PFAS were found in some water in 2019, a Hazardous Site Cleanup funded investigation was initiated to identify potential sources, determine the extent of the plume, characteristics of groundwater flow, and to identify any potential receptors, according to its website.
Well and soil sampling confirmed the presence of PFAS at the University Park Airport, with one well exceeding the health advisory level. This came after DEP contacted Penn State regarding FAA mandated use of fire-fighting foam at the airport, and wells and soil samples were conducted.
“The Benner due diligence report that’s been talked about here clearly defines the University Park Airport, which is owned and operated by Penn State University as a source of aqueous firefighting foam, which is a PFAS contaminant. And I ask for mitigation or immediate remediation of this PFAS contamination not only by our tax funded agencies, but by Penn State University and University Park Airport,” Roberts said.
Rick Weyer lives on Walnut Grove Drive, and said that when his water was tested, it came back below 70 ppt, but not far from it at 52 ppt and 62 ppt. He has not received any of the instructions from the DEP that other homes above the 70 ppt level have. He suspected there are margins of errors associated with any of the measurements, which other people echoed. He thought all the neighbors should have been informed, regardless of their level.
He installed a water filtration at his home on his own instead, and said it’s unknown if the DEP or a responsible party will reimburse him for the “substantial expenses.”
The timing of the DEP’s “prompt interim response” was poor, too, Weyer said.
“I’m not at all clear on how this can be referred to as a prompt interim response given that in 2019, almost three years ago, a high level of PFAS contamination was found in the north border of the University Park Airport. It stands to reason, given the complex geology of the investigation area, that a high probability of PFAS contamination would exist along the southern border of the airport as well, that is adjacent to a residential neighborhood where all homes utilize groundwater wells,” Weyer said. “It is beyond comprehension (why) the sampling of the neighborhood was not conducted immediately in 2019 by the DEP nor demanded by the Benner Township supervisors.”
What’s next?
The nature of the hearing was for the DEP to gather comments on the interim and proposed action response. Representatives from DEP were present, but didn’t respond to questions or comments during the hearing.
Written comments on the DEP’s proposed response will be accepted until 4 p.m. Aug. 26, and should be sent to Cheryl Sinclair by email, csinclair@pa.gov, or by mail or hand-delivery to the DEP Northcentral Regional Office, 208 W. 3rd Street, Suite 101, Williamsport, PA 17701. After the public comment period ends, the DEP will prepare a comment and response document responding to all public comments received prior to the deadline, a release states.
This summer, the DEP expects to conduct surface soil sampling in detention ponds and drainage areas on the airport’s property.
“Geophysical investigations will be conducted and surface and subsurface soil samples as well as and groundwater monitoring wells will be installed in locations both north and south of the airport property,” a handout from the DEP states. Sampling of Spring Creek is expected to occur, but it has not been scheduled yet.
