The U.S. Air Force this week updated city officials on the design of a treatment system for the Haven well, which was contaminated by its activities at the former Pease Air Force Base.
Haven, one of three wells owned by the city of Portsmouth at Pease International Tradeport, was shut off in May 2014 due to PFC contamination.
“Perhaps,” he said, “by this time next year we’ll be talking about construction.” It will be at least three years after the PFC contamination was discovered that construction of a treatment system could begin.
The base closed in 1991, so those contaminants have been migrating through the water supply, and into people’s drinking water, for decades, proving the lingering toxicity of PFCs.
Meanwhile, Newington Selectman Ted Connors said there are 40 private wells in Newington “with some sort of contamination.” Several were tested after the Haven well was shut down and showed PFC contamination.
It is mind-boggling that Portsmouth and Seacoast leaders, many of whom pride themselves on preserving and protecting our environment, are willing to let this process crawl along with little action.
The Air Force is slowly designing a treatment system at its contaminated former base that might be constructed next year.
The Coakley Landfill Group, made up by municipalities and entities that used the landfill, including the city of Portsmouth and U.S. Air Force, is doing everything it can to not properly remediate the site.
Those funds are available to defray some of the cost to extend municipal water lines in Greenland and Newington as needed.
Public water lines from three local utility companies were extended to most of the homes and businesses in that area by the end of 1983.

Union Leader Correspondent BEDFORD — Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics is considering extending public water to at least 64 homes with contaminated wells in Bedford, but town officials are hoping that even more residences will be included in the plan.
“The town absolutely, and I believe the Department of Environmental Services, feel the same way that people on bottled water need to be on municipal water in 2017,” said Town Manager Rick Sawyer.
Although Bedford officials have not received anything in writing from Saint-Gobain, they have been notified by DES that Saint-Gobain has requested a design proposal from Pennichuck Corp. to provide public water to 64 properties.
Sawyer said town officials previously requested that Saint-Gobain consider providing a public water extension to 288 properties in Bedford — not just the original 64 homes where perfluorooctanoic acid was discovered in private wells last year.
“That is part of our request — that Saint-Gobain work toward providing water to the entire area, and at least do the design solution if at all possible,” said Sawyer.
He is still hopeful that Saint-Gobain, which owns a Merrimack plant that is the likely source of the PFOA contamination, will still consider providing public water to the nearly 300 properties.
Elevated levels of private well water contamination were detected at houses on Hemlock Road, Green Meadow Lane, Back River Road, Smith Road and other streets.
“We are hoping to get more definitive announcements in the short term.” Martin said that although Saint-Gobain has requested an estimate from Pennichuck Corp. on design work for about 64 homes in Bedford, that doesn’t mean that discussions aren’t taking place to provide more Bedford properties with municipal water.
Work is ongoing to address water problems in Litchfield and Merrimack as well.
Free blood testing is still being offered to residents who live near the Saint-Gobain facility who have private wells with PFOA contamination above 70 parts per trillion.

Honeywell will have to face class claims for negligence, nuisance, trespass and medical monitoring in a New York water contamination case, the Northern District of New York ruled Feb. 6 ( Baker v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. , 2017 BL 34914, N.D.N.Y., No.
The ruling came in closely-watched litigation over pervasive PFOA contamination in the town’s water supply, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York wrestled with unsettled issues of New York tort law in its decision.
“This is a wonderful decision for the people of Hoosick Falls, who may now proceed with their lawsuit,” Robin Greenwald, of Weitz & Luxenberg in New York City told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 7.
“The court also invited the parties to appeal the decision, and we are presently considering our appellate options,” Pokedoff said in an e-mail.
Private water well owners also have a possessory interest in wells harmed by PFOA trespasses, and private nuisance claims may proceed because of the “special loss” well owners suffer from the installation of monitoring equipment, the court said.
It did, however, dismiss private nuisance claims brought by municipal water users.
Those plaintiffs presented public, rather than private, nuisance considerations, the court said.
Medical Monitoring Claims The companies also argued New York law barred medical monitoring claims brought by Baker and other plaintiffs with elevated PFOA levels, at least where there is no existing diagnosis.
There are “several complex and novel issues of New York law as to which the existing case law is significantly muddled,” and they warranted an immediate appeal of the order to the Second Circuit.
The law offices of Weitz & Luxenberg represented the plaintiffs.