11/29/2018 BOARD OF HEALTH Minutes

Home Browse Search

2`' �t .Lr �� Town of Mashpee oj•'. 's 16 Great Neck Road North h r Gfl..P Mashpee, Massachusetts 02649 BOARD OF HEALTH - PUBLIC SESSION Mashpee Town Hall —Waquoit Meeting Room Minutes of the Meeting of November 29, 2018 Board Members Present: Member Absent: Also Present: Brian Baumgaertel, Chair Laurel Almquist, Co-Chair Glen Harrington, Health Agent Mallory Langler, Clerk Chair Brian Baumgaertel called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. APPOINTMENTS 7:15—AFCEC,Joint Base Cape Cod,Annual Update Douglas Karson, Community Involvement Lead, and Rose Forbes, Remediation Program Manager, introduced themselves. Mr. Karson began by explaining that the Air Force has invested a lot of money and effort into mitigation action relative to groundwater contamination. They have executed numerous agreements with towns surrounding the base; installed well-head treatment; provided bottled water to affected property owners;installed whole-house carbon units to filter the PFOS and PFOA in private wells; and facilitated municipal connections. Of the 16 groundwater plumes that were originally mapped, 10 or 11 remain,and most plumes are seeing treatment at roughly 10 million gallons per day. Mr. Karson stated that a great deal of work has been done over the past 20 years, and they are starting to see real progress, as evidenced by the maps that were provided at the meeting. Mr. Karson discussed ongoing issues with the ponds. He reminded the Board that, at last year's meeting, it was agreed that sampling would be done every other year for John's Pond and Ashumet Pond. Recent samples indicated that PFOS and PFOA levels at both ponds are above the health advisory for drinking water only, but are not a significant health risk for recreational use. Ms. Forbes stated that the base has made 11-12 municipal water connections in Mashpee, including the trailer park. She further informed the Board that they are working on putting well-head treatment on the Mashpee Village public water supply, which has been shut down since 2017 due to PFAS exceedances. Chair Baumgaertel inquired whether the town has a map of all private wells, and Glen Harrington answered that none existed because most wells were installed many years ago, and prior to the homes being constructed, so there was nothing to measure off of. Ms. Forbes stated that a lot of research has been done to try to identify where private wells are located around the base. Mr. Karson informed the Board that, in several cases, multiple attempts have been made to contact property owners who are known to be or suspected to be on private wells,to include mailings and home visits, but to no avail. He stated that anyone residing in a home around Ashumet or John's Pond, who has a private well, should contact his office. Mr. Karson encouraged the public to visit their website at www.m assn ation alg uard.org/jbcc. 1