HYANNIS – The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has received a 57 page plan from Barnstable County that includes the cleanup of the Barnstable County Fire and Rescue Training Academy.
A water quality health advisory for the Hyannis Water System was issued in May after firefighting foams containing PFOS were found to have had exceeded federal guidelines in the Mary Dunn wells.
The advisory was lifted in early July and the water is now safe to consume.
The plan was submitted in response to a request by the DEP for an “Immediate Response Action” for the cleanup of the contaminated soil and groundwater on the property.
Plans include excavating the soil from the site and expanding the groundwater recovery and treatment.
“We’re removing some of the soil out there and we’re working on some other impact areas to make sure that this problem can be abated over time,” said Barnstable County Administrator Jack Yunits.
An excavation company has been contracted for the work and the Barnstable Conservation Commission has approved the plan.
The county is currently in negotiations with the town of Barnstable, who filed a lawsuit against them for $2 million in damages for the contamination of the wells from the academy.
Yunits told the town in July that the county is committed to cleaning up the pollution at the 6.2 acre site.
“This is a first time study on how to deal with the PFOS issue in Massachusetts,” said Yunits. “Westfield, out in central Massachusetts, has the same issue.”
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
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