'Sink this project': Emails show concern of environmental review on machine-gun range, Chatham calls special town meeting to deal with low water levels and PFAS in drinking water supply

 

'Sink this project': Emails show concern of environmental review on machine-gun range

Jessica Hill Cape Cod Times

Published Sep 8, 2021 

DENNIS — The Association to Preserve Cape Cod is calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to shelve a proposed machine-gun range on the Upper Cape after public records showed the military’s concerns over growing environmental scrutiny. 

The nonprofit environmental organization received emails after a public records request made to  the Massachusetts National Guard that included emails from Joint Base Cape Cod Executive Director Brigadier General Christopher Faux to office staff of U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass.

In one email from March 26, Faux said the military has heard from multiple agencies and has seen numerous news articles about Keating, along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, requesting further review of the project from the National Environmental Policy Act in the form of an environmental impact statement.

“If that is the case, we will most likely lose the project and its funding and will have wasted ten years of work,” Faux wrote. 

Faux declined to comment, saying in an email Wednesday morning that per protocol, he forwarded the records request to the public affairs office, which has not responded.

The multipurpose machine-gun range, planned for the site of the base’s existing KD, or “known distance” range, would sit above the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve and would cost $11.5 million. The range would be used for military training with different weapons, including machine guns, 12-gauge shotguns, grenade launchers and pistols. The proposal calls for clearing 170 acres of forest and disturbing about 199 acres of land.

The National Guard Bureau approved the project April 30 in an environmental study that found no significant impacts from the gun range, but many residents and organizations have expressed concern about the impact the machine-gun range would have on the environment, particularly the Cape’s water supply. 

Previous coverage

• Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe opposes machine gun range project at Joint Base Cape Cod
• Proposed machine gun range on Upper Cape base gets nod from advisory group
• Concerns remain over proposed machine-gun range at Joint Base Cape Cod
• Photo Gallery: Residents rally against proposed machine gun range
• 
  

The Environmental Protection Agency will review the proposed machine-gun range and the potential risks it may pose to public drinking water, Markey, Warren and Keating announced in August. 

Faux wrote in an email to Keating’s office that the Massachusetts National Guard used a fact-based assessment that meticulously followed the NEPA process.

“Comparatively, our adversaries who have yet to provide a single fact that refutes our analysis, will have set a precedent and a deadly blow to the US Military and the safety and security of this great nation based solely on their ‘feeling’ that additional study is required,” Faux wrote. 

Andrew Gottlieb, the executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, said in a Tuesday statement that the emails reveal both the National Guard’s worry about submitting the machine gun-range project to a thorough environmental review but also demonstrate a “complete disregard of the public’s legitimate concerns about the potential environmental impacts of the project.” 

Association to Preserve Cape Cod filed public records requests

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod decided to file the public records requests after Faux threatened to stop supporting Cape Cod businesses if they did not support the machine-gun range. 

“We were concerned that similar threats may have been made to our elected officials, those who may have influence over the future of the proposed project,” Gottlieb said in the statement.

The emails were turned over to the Association to Preserve Cape Cod after it filed an appeal to the Massachusetts state secretary’s office when the Guard repeatedly withheld the requested information. 

Association to Preserve Cape Cod:  Public records sought from Guard general

“I can now see why the Guard would not want the public to see these emails,” Gottlieb said in the statement. 

In one email to Keating’s office staff, Faux referenced a Cape Cod Times article reporting on Keating’s call to take a closer look at the machine-gun range. He said he understands that Keating must work with every constituent and support his reelection activities, but those who oppose the machine gun range make up less than 0.5% of the Cape’s population, who he claims have provided a “strong campaign of misinformation.” 

Joint Base Cape Cod: Federal pols weigh in on proposed machine-gun range

“We have provided these folks with EVERY possible piece of information they could need to make an informed decision,” Faux wrote in the March 24 email, “which they obviously do not care to make.” 

He said in a March 24 email to Keating's staff that the project would have an overall positive impact to the environment, with copper bullets that would not affect groundwater, mitigation to improve the habitat and eventually sequester carbon, but that “falls on deaf ears in the small fraction of citizens that represent the activists.” 

“Honestly, just the phrase ‘further NEPA review or EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) coming from the (congressional) delegation will sink this project and dramatically impact the MA National Guard,” he said in the email.

He added that the National Guard can meet the desires of Keating and the rest of the delegation in regard to "appeasing" those in opposition by providing a deeper dive into the impacts of the project without adding NEPA action. 

On April 12, Faux sent another email to Keating’s office about an April 9 letter that Keating, Warren and Markey sent to Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army National Guard, that expressed further concerns about the machine-gun range.

“It’s pretty obvious that you have deliberately deceived me and my colleagues and created a false sense of trust,” he said in the email. “I am still shocked that the delegation would abandon the Guard based on comments from a small group of activists that manipulate facts to perpetuate their own anti-military agendas.” 

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod says the project has not been managed legitimately and with fair consideration of public input. 

“The governor has no other choice if he wishes to restore faith in the integrity of the public process under his administration,” Gottlieb said in the statement. 

Chatham calls special town meeting to deal with low water levels and PFAS in drinking water supply

Doug Fraser Cape Cod Times 

Published Sep 9, 2021 

CHATHAM — With the town's drinking water system showing signs of stress from seasonal demand and a continuing drought, Chatham is also struggling with relatively high levels of PFAS in two wells, making it harder to handle demand.  

At their meeting Tuesday night, Chatham Select Board members voted to open a new well (Well No. 4), pending approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The public water system's contracted operator Weston & Sampson has been installing equipment and doing tests to prepare it for pumping.

The board also unanimously approved holding a special town meeting at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 23 to ask for $4.5 million to open two new wells (No. 10 and 11) and money to design PFAS treatment facility for two wells (No. 5 and 8). The $4.5 million will include design work to incorporate PFAS and iron and manganese treatment if required in the future.

Both articles are funded from water system money and will not require a separate ballot vote for a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion because they don't impact property taxes.

The select board voted unanimously to endorse both articles.

Thoseactions came tempered with caution that the Lower Cape, and particularly Chatham, need a rainy/snowy winter to rebuild their water supply.

Chatham Natural Resources Director Robert Duncanson said monitoring wells along the Chatham/Brewster line continue to show a downward trend in water levels despite a recent soaking rain that was still less than half what other parts of the Cape experienced from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows Brewster, Chatham and Orleans classified as in a severe drought, one step below extreme drought, in its most recent data last week. 

"It's something we worry about if it continues into the fall," Duncanson said. "With no huge snowmelt (this winter), next year could be worse."  

Even though water use was down by 14% in August compared to last year — thanks in part to water restrictions in place since the spring after a dry winter — the town's water division became concerned that three drinking water wells were close to mandatory shutdown levels due to low groundwater. The water division said reopening Well No. 4, which the select board approved Tuesday, was critical to reducing the demand on the other wells.   

Chatham's water problem is complicated by the discovery this spring of PFAS (per - and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals) in three of its nine drinking water wells. Two of those wells had relatively low levels of PFAS but Well No. 5 was shut down in the spring because it tested at twice the level allowed by the state. Testing in August revealed those levels remained high, although just below the state limit. But the adjacent Well No. 8 also tested high for PFAS, but also just below the state standard. 

"The highest levels coming out of Well 8 are rapidly approaching (the state standard) of 20 (parts per trillion)," Duncanson said. "That's very concerning to me."

Additional testing will be done this week, Duncanson said.

Duncanson theorized that the high PFAS levels in Well No. 8 may be due to the two wells being located next to one another. He thought Well No. 8 may be drawing contaminated water down from Well No. 5 since it is shut down. 

The town has talked about blending contaminated well water with water from non-contaminated wells. A treatment facility could also be built that could remove PFAS from drinking water as Barnstable currently does.

Both wells are near the municipal airport in Chatham. Airports have been identified as point sources for PFAS, which was used in firefighting foam, but Chatham airport officials could only find one instance where that foam was used. The town is working on selecting a contractor to identify the source of the chemicals in town wells and Town Manager Jill Goldsmith said she expects to have that contractor selected by the end of next week.

Landfills and septic systems can also serve as a source for those manmade chemicals whose stability, oil and water repellant and heat resistant properties are used in firefighting foam, nonstick pans, stain and water repellant fabrics, polishes, waxes, cleaning products, food containers and many other products. Some of those chemicals have been linked to cancer, compromised immune systems, diabetes, low birth rates and other conditions.

PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because their durability and stability mean they don't biodegrade. They've been found in the most isolated areas of the world and a 2018 study found PFAS in nearly half of 101 private wells tested on Cape Cod.

 

As Barnstable hunts for new sources of public drinking water, PFAS contamination rears its ugly head

Jeannette Hinkle Cape Cod Times 

Published Sep 3, 2021 

HYANNIS — In its hunt for new sources of drinking water, Barnstable must grapple with a grim reality spelled out in an April 2021 report by the engineering firm Weston & Sampson.

“...It is generally understood that any source developed in Barnstable has a risk of detection of PFAS,” the report’s authors wrote.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of thousands of man-made chemicals, some of which have been linked to health problems including increased cholesterol, immune system issues, cancer and thyroid hormone disruption.

Barnstable — home to three documented sources of significant PFAS contamination including the former Barnstable County Fire Rescue & Training Academy, the Cape Cod Gateway Airport and the Barnstable Water Pollution Control Facility — is already treating Hyannis’s existing drinking water to remove the “forever” chemicals.

Because of the treatment, estimated to cost $900,000 annually, town officials say the water that flows out of the taps in Hyannis is safe to drink.

But the wells currently on line don’t yield enough water to meet all demand, according to a 2019 report by Weston & Sampson.

In 2020, the deficit in the Hyannis water system was 1.87 million gallons per day, according to the report. By 2040, that deficit is projected to grow to 3.23 million gallons per day, an increase of roughly 72%.

'Forever chemicals': PFAS detected in Chatham drinking water wells

“Weston & Sampson recommends that the Town of Barnstable should immediately initiate the investigation and development of additional sources of groundwater supply, which will take years to bring on line,” the authors of the 2019 report wrote.

Barnstable has now zeroed in on three new potential sources of drinking water. One is north of Route 6 in the Bridge Street Conservation Area, another  is north of Route 6 west near Old Jail Lane, and one is in the West Barnstable Conservation area, according to Weston & Sampson’s April 2021 report.

PFAS: Cape towns look to Congress to help pay cleanup costs

Despite the comprehensive search focused in less-developed areas of Barnstable, two of the three most promising sources identified by Weston & Sampson have water quality problems. The potential well site in the West Barnstable Conservation Area would require treatment for manganese, and the the Bridge Street Conservation Area would require treatment for PFAS. 

Why is the town considering new drinking water sources that are tainted?

Contamination is only one of many considerations town officials will weigh as they select a new source of drinking water, said Hans Keijser, supervisor of the Barnstable Water Supply Division.

Also at play are other factors, such as who owns the land, whether the area is considered for future development, how much it would cost to build in that location, and how much water the town can safely withdraw. The source contaminated with PFAS, for example, is expected to yield the highest quantity of water of the three new sources under strong consideration.

“The upper management and leadership in town have to make the decision, what’s more important?” Keijser said. “It’s not, ‘Is there contamination? Yes or no.‘ It’s a little bit more complex than that.”

Contamination may once have been a deal-breaker in the search for new drinking water supplies, but is now so widespread that a supplier would be lucky to find a pristine source, said Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.

Photos: Barnstable County Fire Training Academy Buildings Demolished

A big reason for that, he said, is the Cape’s reliance on septic systems, which become depositories for all of the chemicals that people consume in their daily lives, ranging from antidepressants to PFAS, which is still used in consumer products ranging from cooking pans to cosmetics to waterproof fabrics.

“The vast majority of wastewater treatment on Cape Cod happens in backyard septic systems, none of which are intended to remove contaminants,” Gottlieb said. “So you have a hundred-and-something thousand individual small backyard-based point sources that provide access to the groundwater for unregulated contaminants and emerging contaminants like PFAS, like perchlorate before it, as well as things that are much more benign.”

Until recently, Gottlieb said, Cape Cod’s water quality was good enough that suppliers didn’t need to consider treating the water it pulled from the ground before sending it to people’s homes and businesses.

“I think the sad reality is those days are coming to an end,” he said. “We have to just wake up to the fact that as long as we remain a society that intensely uses chemicals and relies on 18th-century treatment technology to deal with our waste, those chemicals are going to find their way into the groundwater. And it is completely unacceptable for it to be this way.”  

“What we’re finding out here on Cape Cod is that everything is connected,” Keijser said. “Wastewater, drinking water, everything people use or abuse, it's all together. (Barnstable Town Manager) Mark Ells often says, ‘We drink the water we stand on.’ With that comes enormous responsibility for everybody in the community. If people really think about that, hopefully, they’ll change their behavior.”

On Cape Cod, 100% of the drinking water is pumped from the region's sole-source aquifer.

In summer 2020, Tom Cambareri of Sole Source Consulting collected samples taken from 21 ponds in Barnstable, under the assumption that pond water quality is a good bellwether for groundwater quality. PFAS compounds were present in every pond sample tested, in quantities ranging from 2.5 nanograms per liter to 252 nanograms per liter. The drinking water standard for the six PFAS compounds currently regulated by the state is 20 nanograms per liter.

Sen. Cyr: 'Lot of work to do' considering expansion of PFAS monitoring

The authors of the 2021 Weston & Sampson report said those findings mean that PFAS contamination is so ubiquitous, the town should still consider using water sources contaminated with the chemicals, and factor in the cost of treating that water in making a final selection.

“There's plenty of water,” Santos said this week. “It's just that the most cost-effective way to get it is by not having to treat it for contaminants.”

Questions linger about the future effectiveness of PFAS treatment

Laurel Schaider is a senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, where she leads water quality research on PFAS, research that now includes Hyannis-based human health studies on the effects of consuming PFAS-tainted water.

Schaider said the system used to clean the water in Hyannis is a standard method that does a good job of removing the six PFAS compounds regulated by the state.

But she noted that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates more than 9,000 chemicals fall into the PFAS family, and a Harvard study published in the spring found PFAS compounds in Cape Cod streams that aren’t captured by most current testing methods.

“There's certainly the potential that in the future we may learn about other PFAS that might also be present in the water, and not all PFAS are equally well removed by all types of treatment,” she said. “That’s why it would be preferable to choose a place where there isn’t PFAS in the first place, rather than having to treat.”

Health: State expert recommends blood testing for PFAS contaminant

She acknowledged that's easier said than done. 

“I don't envy the people who have to make these decisions, because it's not easy,” Schaider said.

Department of Environmental Protection Public Affairs Director Edmund Coletta said his agency has been searching for new sources of water in Hyannis.

Cape Cod is not alone in grappling with the effects of contamination, he said.

“The urbanization of southeastern Massachusetts is increasing the challenge of finding adequate water supplies,” Coletta wrote in an email. “Municipalities that long ago preserved land for aquifer protection have an advantage in providing pure drinking water to their citizens.”

“Barnstable is not unique in its challenge to locate water sources to serve an increasing population, and water quality issues aren’t just a problem for southeastern Massachusetts or the Cape,” he added. “As an example, there are many locations across the state, new and old, that are now dealing with the issue of PFAS contamination.”

 

Curious Cape Cod: Chatham cemetery a reminder of life before smallpox vaccine

Eric Williams Cape Cod Times 

Published Jun 9, 2021 

CHATHAM — I was mixing up a batch of Low Tide Cologne (main ingredients: saffron and black mayonnaise mud) when some sort of accelerated evapotranspiration began lifting chunks from the vat into the sky.

"You used too much Fresca," sniffed my parfumeur Nezzy Wrinklston. He opened his parasol, which turned out to be a smart move, as a fishy, lumpy rain began to fall. The driveway became a Jackson Pollock splatter painting, smelling of, you guessed it, pollock.

Happily, some of the sky-clumps gradually formed into fragrant letters and the following message was revealed:

"What is the story behind the smallpox cemetery in Chatham?"

I whistled for the Curious Prius, asked Nezzy to clean things up and handed him a clothespin for his nose. His angry gesticulations disappeared quickly in the rearview mirror as we set sail for a mysterious spot known as the Training Field Triangle. Along the way, I pressed the "SmartyPantz" button on the dashboard for a quick jolt of research.

Thus, I gleaned that smallpox was an infectious and contagious disease caused by a virus. It brought on fever and a distinctive skin rash, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three out of every 10 people who contracted it would perish.

Happily, a successful vaccine was eventually developed and the disease was eradicated. According to the CDC, "the last natural outbreak of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949."

But back in the day, smallpox was big trouble for Indigenous peoples and settlers in New England. Well before before the Pilgrims arrived, "European visitors brought with them diseases to which the (Native Americans) had no immunity, including smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, cholera and bubonic plague," according to an article titled "The History of Epidemics in New England" on the New England Historical Society website.

And, "it was not long before the settlers began their own battle with smallpox," wrote Dr. Samuel Bayard Woodward for his 1932 oration to the Massachusetts Medical Society. "For 180 years smallpox was responsible for more deaths than any other one cause. Almost always sporadically present, coming in epidemic form every few years, few indeed escaped its ravages."

And that's where Chatham comes in. We arrived at the Training Field Triangle and after a short walk along a shady path I arrived at the smallpox cemetery. It is a solemn, small and beautiful place, with several headstones and footstones.

Many thanks to the folks behind the highly useful interpretive sign just outside the cemetery, with text and photos that really tell the story. "Smallpox ravaged Chatham from November 1765 to May 1766, forcing businesses and schools to close and claiming 37 of the town's 678 lives," reads the text. "Although this smallpox cemetery was formed during the outbreak, few were buried in it due to fears of spreading the disease during funerals. Most victims were buried quietly without a funeral service on family farms."

There was also mention of the selfless work of Chatham doctor Samuel Lord, "who faithfully treated his patients during Chatham's smallpox epidemic. Before the epidemic ceased, Dr. Lord contracted the disease and died in January 1766." A stone marking his burial place and honoring his service is located along Training Field Road, about half a mile from the cemetery.

That was my last stop before a thoughtful ride home.