The preferred site is on the former Green Mountain Race Track property, but another parcel that had previously been considered an alternative has seen recent test well activity. The site is part of the Pollert’s Farm property and was one of three potential locations that consultants working with the Pownal Fire District 2 board identified in March.
According to Tim Raymond, operations and engineering section chief with the state’s Public Drinking Water Program, his office was notified June 26 that a test well would be drilled on the Pollert property, but he had received no further reports.
Scientists test a well for the chemical PFOA. The well serving customers of Pownal Fire District 2 is one of many in Bennington County contaminated with PFOA. Bennington Banner file photo
Unicorn Management was hired in 2016 by American Premier Underwriters of Cincinnati, the company that has assumed environmental liability for the former factory site that the state considers to be the source of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, contaminating the water system’s well.
The current Pownal Fire District 2 well, serving a water system with about 450 customers in the southern areas of town, is about 1,000 feet from the former Warren Wire/General Cable Corp. factory. Both companies used Teflon coatings, a source of PFOA, in their manufacturing processes.
Raymond said it would normally be 30 days or more before the results of such well tests are received. The preliminary testing will focus on the amount of water available at the site and whether it is free of contaminants.
Scott Stewart, a hydrogeologist with the state Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division, said the search “is still in the exploration stage” and that no particular site has been selected for a replacement well. The district board’s eventual application for approval of a new water source will come to his office, he said, but currently the consultants, their engineering firm and the district are overseeing the process.
An opportunity for public comment will be part of the state’s well approval process.
The district water board is scheduled to meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Pownal Rescue Squad building and is expected to receive an update on the well search.
Stewart said he doesn’t know whether a test of a site or sites on the 144-acre former race track property has been scheduled, but added that the race track’s nearby well has been tested in the past and the area is considered a significant water resource. The well that served the now-closed race track was rated to have a capacity more than three times that of the district’s current well.
Once the purity of a selected water source is determined, along with the water yield, the district can apply to the state for a water supply permit and conclude a formal agreement with the landowner.
An important consideration, officials have said, would be the terms of acquisition for the well head property, which would have to be acceptable to the district and meet state well site protection standards.
Stephen Soler, who represents the investor group that owns the former track property, attended a water district board meeting in May to discuss a proposed water bottling operation that would sell district water and provide income for the district. No decision has been announced on that proposal.
Soler could not be reached for comment.
American Premier Underwriters is funding a carbon filtering system at the current district well site, bottled water for affected residents and other costs associated with the PFOA contamination, along with the costs of identifying and installing a replacement well, state officials have said.
The former factory building now is owned by Mack Molding.
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