The Brunswick executive airport will eliminate toxic PFAS chemicals from fire suppression systems under a federal settlement to resolve violations from a massive firefighting foam spill last year.
In an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority will file a plan by the end of the year to cleanse or replace fire suppression systems in its aircraft hangers.
MRRA Executive Director Dan Stevenson said that all the Aqueous Film Forming Foam previously used to smother fires has been removed from the airport. The foam is laden with PFAS chemicals that have been linked to health effects such as low birth weight and certain cancers. The agency is considering options to eliminate foam remnants in equipment at the former U.S. Navy Base.
"We’ve been working with regulatory agencies regularly since that happened a year ago, and we are in compliance," Stevenson said.
"We’re already making strides to get this done so even when the plan goes in some of the boxes they would have liked to see checked have already been checked," he added.
The agency has to conduct regular monitoring and is expected to complete all work by the end of 2027, according to the consent agreement.
The deal resolve Clean Water Act violations from the accidental release of more than 1,400 gallons of foam mixed with tens of thousands of gallons of water last August. Chemicals from the spill made their way into local waterways including the Androscoggin River, according to the agreement.
In an email EPA spokesperson John Senn said that the agency's current action is focused on the airport's fire suppression systems and eliminating the possibility of a similar spill in the future.
"Environmental remediation of areas contaminated by PFAS are being addressed by MRRA separately," Senn said.
