Barnstable Airport to Hold Public Involvement Plan Meeting

HYANNIS – Barnstable Municipal Airport will hold a public meeting later this month to present its Draft Public Involvement Plan.

The plan describes ongoing activities related to evaluating sources of contamination from highly fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, due to the use of firefighting foam.

The meeting is July 29 at 6 p.m. in the airport terminal’s first floor conference room.

Site assessment activities at the airport are regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan.

These regulations include provisions for local residents to request, by petition, a Public Involvement Plan to learn more about the investigations and ask questions about the ongoing work.

In response to the petition, the airport has developed a draft plan that is now available at airport.town.barnstable.ma.us/about/documents.aspx for review.

Presentations at the meeting will include:

  • An overview of the Airport’s environmental management practices, including a discussion on the historic use of firefighting foam which is one known source of PFAS compounds. The firefighting foam used at the airport is the only Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved foam for airports. Although the FAA is seeking alternatives, none presently exist. The FAA requires that airports certificated under Federal Aviation Administration Regulations (FAR) Part 139 use and store such firefighting foams to meet certification requirements for the maintenance and operation of the airport for air carriers. Foam is no longer used in any drills or training exercises at the Airport;
  • A presentation on investigations that have been ongoing since 2016 to investigate PFAS compounds and 1,4-dioxane in soil and groundwater at the Airport; and
  • Information on the water supplies that serve Hyannis and ongoing practices to ensure the water provided to Hyannis residents meets the state’s drinking water standards and guidelines.

Public comments are encouraged at the meeting and may also be submitted in writing by August 19.

Comments can be mailed to: Barnsatble Municipal Airport, ATTENTION: Public Involvement Plan, 480 Barnstable Road, Hyannis, MA 02601. They can also be emailed to Sue Kennedy at [email protected].

The airport will issue a final draft PIP no later than September 17, 2019.

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