MANCHESTER – A familiar and serious topic in the form of per-polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) was discussed among members of the governing body.
Details of a recent Air Force Civil Engineer Center open house concerned how contamination from PFAS could move into drinking water. That forum was held to inform the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s surrounding communities on the Department of the Air Force’s private drinking water sampling program.
Even in small amounts the chemicals can cause some serious problems to a person’s health. Increased exposure has had a correlation to higher cholesterol levels, kidney and testicular cancer and impacts on the immune system according to findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can also interfere with liver function.
Residents who obtain their drinking water from a private well within the focus areas were strongly urged to attend that open house. PFAS-related questions were directed to experts from JB MDL, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection,
The open house had been postponed due to recent changes in drinking water standards by federal authorities. There has been significant attention on PFAS releases from Department of Defense activities and the subsequent potential impact to human health and the environment.
A National Issue
Manchester Business Administrator Carl Block represented the township at the forum. He stressed that the presence of PFAS in the environment is a national issue due to its wide-spread use in many industrial and consumer products.
He noted that the chemical foams were developed by 3M and the U.S. Navy in the 1960s. They were used by firefighting teams at the Joint Base and it was unknown decades ago that its use would have a lasting impact on the drinking water on those properties where firefighting drills took place.
The chemicals used by both the military and local fire companies spread PFAS into the soil at the Joint Base and into the water table of its surrounding communities. They now contaminate surface water and some drinking water supplies in in the Pine Lake section of Manchester by the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, according to the U.S. Air Force.
It was also noted that there is contamination in Little Pine Lake, a section of Pemberton Township, Burlington County. Block said this information came out of an “investigation that the Joint Base is doing and most military bases across the country.” The study involves, “soil sampling, monitoring wells…there has been 20 sites with additional monitoring wells and a study of migration of sub surface water.”
A map showing Pine Lake, a section of Manchester, was part of a presentation about harmful chemicals surrounding the military base. (Photo courtesy Kate Tallon)
Clarifying Pine Lake Status
Councilwoman Michele Zolezi, who also serves on an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sub-committee, commented on some of the concerns expressed by members of the public during the council meeting. “I do want to clarify Pine Lake has not been swimmable for quite some time. That is not directly related to PFAS and is not the reason that the lake isn’t swimmable.”
“We’ve been working on algae blooms and other things that needed to be dredged and we’ve been monitoring that. I don’t want residents to think that for that long period of time that the lake has not been swimmable and that (PFAS presence) is the rationale which is not true,” she added.
Council President Roxy Conniff concurred, “there has been numerous reasons why Pine Lake hasn’t been swimmable. This is a very complicated DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) Army Corps of Engineers issue that Manchester has been mitigating for years.”
New Drinking Water Regulations
The EPA announced on April 10, the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS. There are maximum levels of each compound allowed by law. Public water systems in the state are required to monitor for PFAS and inform customers if results exceed required levels.
To inform the final rule, the EPA evaluated over 120,000 comments submitted by the public on the rule proposal, as well as considered input received during multiple consultations and stakeholder engagement activities held both prior to and following the proposed rule.
The agency expects that over many years the final rule will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.
Manchester Needs More Water
Manchester officials shut down some seasonal wells on the eastern end of the municipality after it was revealed from samples taken from one of four wells that PFAS was present. This has led the community to seek out additional water sources to meet its summer needs as well as to accommodate for the additional residency population from Presidential Gardens on Route 37 that will be opening soon.
While the township now has fewer wells to draw water from to meet those needs, Mayor Robert Arace has stated that his administration has been working toward getting more drinkable water for residents.
Manchester entered into a shared services agreements to buy additional water from neighboring Lakehurst Borough and has worked out another with Jackson Township concerning a project along Route 571 and South Hope Chapel which will aid the community with its water needs.
According to officials, the township has to meet a state deadline to design and fund a new water system that can meet the new demands of the increasing population of Manchester and that would filter out any PFAS and prevent any additional spreading of the harmful chemical into deeper uncontaminated areas.
Covering The Cost
Congress members and the military have offered assistance in securing funds and grants for the new water system. Block noted at the meeting that Congressman Chris Smith has been working with the township and other communities concerning this but some of the cost may end up falling on taxpayers
Manchester is expected to join a national lawsuit against 3M in hopes of getting reimbursement for the cost outlay. The U.S. District Court in South Carolina and 3M reached an agreement in April with various water suppliers nationwide which calls for 3M to pay $10.3 billion over the next 13 years to providers of water in order to test and add filtration systems related to the PFAS contamination.
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