Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD – “Experts have said clean the water. The plan of action has been built,” said Mayor Brian P. Sullivan on Monday, speaking about the $13 million bond that was voted down in the City Council last Thursday, with opposing councilors citing the need for an agreement in place with the Air Force.
Sullivan said the City of Westfield filed a tort claim with the Department of Defense last week. He said while the tort claim is going through the process, the Air National Guard is doing its testing. “Hopefully, the ANG will find that they are responsible,” the Mayor said, adding, “The ANG is working with us. It’s not the City of Westfield versus the 104th.”
Sullivan said the city maintains a strong relationship with the Air National Guard, which was represented at the City Council meeting by several members, including Colonel Peter T. Green, III, Vice Commander of the 104th.
On March 15, the base issued a letter stating that the results of the recent ground water and soil site investigation on Barnes Air National Guard Base were released and are available on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MASSDEP) website. “The soil and ground water testing is a step in the inspection process to determine potential migration pathways of PFOS/PFOA compounds,” the letter stated.
“We want the public to know the process is moving ahead,” said Col. Peter Green in the letter. “Our goal from day one has been to partner with the City to protect human health and to be transparent with information.”
Colonel Peter T. Green, III, Vice Commander of the 104th Air National Guard. (WNG File Photo)
Sullivan said the tort claim is against the Department of Defense, just as is the case in every city or town affected by the use of contaminants from fire-fighting foam. He also said the ANG is aware of the action the city has taken.
Sullivan said the Environmental Services Agreement, which is being tossed about as the solution, is “a piece down the road.”
The process for the Federal Tort Claims Act begins with the filing of a claim with the responsible agency, which the city did last week. Then six months for acceptance or rejection of the claim by the responsible agency. Once the six months has passed or the claim is denied, whichever is earlier, the lawsuit is then filed within six months.
Then the motion practice, such as motions to dismiss, takes six months to one year for filing, response and decision; followed by discovery and more motion practice possible, followed by the trial and decision. Sullivan said the Environmental Services Agreement is about the sixth step in the process.
“It took us literally two years to put together the lawsuits,” Sullivan said, referring to the lawsuit against the three manufacturers of the firefighting foam and chemicals. “You’ve got to make sure you have the documentation that holds up in court.” He said the city is working with the Kennedy & Madonna Law Firm, in conjunction with S.L. Environmental, which Sullivan said is run by a former Attorney General in New Hampshire. “They’ve done these cases,” he said.
Sullivan said the city’s timeline is to have a temporary fix of Well 2 by the end of the summer. “That will allow us the proper amount of clean water,” he said, adding that as of right now, everything testing above 70 parts per trillion has been taken offline.
Once the temporary filtration system has been installed, Well 2 will be working “full blown,” and Well 1, which is the oldest well, will be used as backup. As that process is working, the permanent filtration station for Wells 7 and 8 is being built
“When they come online, I can take Wells 1 & 2 offline and build the permanent structure within two years,” Sullivan said. During that time, the DOD process will be ongoing, but will not be done, he said. He also disputed the idea that the DOD would not reimburse for that work the city is doing to mitigate the problem, saying the only pieces they won’t reimburse are the work “above and beyond.”
Sullivan also said the original $5 million bond, which passed the City Council unanimously last year, was for Wells 7 and 8, the water tanks and the Springfield cross connector. He said when they went forward with the bond, they found out how much more we had to put into the process. For one thing, the bench scale testing needed to change, he said.
“It wasn’t a bad estimate in terms of what we wanted to do, but it was a low estimate in what we found out we needed to do,” Mayor Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the proposal At-large Councilor Dan Allie has put forth for two bonds, “kicks the new plant down the road for Wells 1 and 2,” which he said he doesn’t feel comfortable doing. “It’s very unwise of us. What if something happens at Wells 7 and 8,” he said.
“They’re banking on the lawsuit with the ANG, and not on cleaning the water when we need to clean the water, which is my office’s focus,” Mayor Sullivan said.
Sullivan also said the City Council had three weeks to pass the first reading to keep it going. “What’s frustrating is, I have to start over a process that they all agree is a good process,” he said.
“A bond is not a check. A bond is a number based on estimates of numbers for projects that the finance community says we have the ability to pay over (a number of) years,” Sullivan explained. He said after bidding, the amount could come out at $11 million.
“In two years, when we’re finishing Wells 1 and 2, if the ANG says yes, we’ll pay for it, we won’t even have sold that bond yet, and the money (from the settlement) will go directly into the project,” he said.
Mayor Sullivan also said that he started the briefings before the City Council in order to allow councilors to ask him questions of items, like the bond, that the city brought before them. “For whatever reason, they didn’t want to use that opportunity for that purpose,” he said.
He plans on starting a half hour show on Channel 15, once or twice a month, to continue to brief residents on topics he will be sending to the City Council. He also plans to feature department heads on the show, and to keep it entertaining, by talking to local residents. “I hope to start the show next month,” Sullivan said.
