MASSACHUSETTS MILITARY RESERVATION (MMR), Cape Cod, Mass. —Officials of the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) announced today that they are conducting research to better identify and characterize residential and irrigation wells within the footprint of groundwater plumes emanating from the MMR under its cleanup program. “This program will give AFCEE, the regulatory agencies, and local boards of health the highest level of confidence that no one is at risk from plume contaminants,” said Jon Davis, AFCEE Remediation Program Manager.

AFCEE has provided over 1,100 conversions from private well systems to municipal water in the four Upper Cape towns in the plume areas but residential and irrigation wells were not closed at the time of those conversions.

This research is a result of the September 2007 Record of Decision for the Landfill 1 and Chemical Spill 23 groundwater plumes. In that decision, AFCEE is required to verify the status and safety of all residential and irrigation wells within the footprint of those two plumes within a three year window from the date of the decision. AFCEE decided to also apply the verification program to its other plumes instead of waiting for the requirement to become formally instituted.

Due to the large number of homes involved with the Ashumet Valley plume in Falmouth AFCEE decided to begin with that plume. In the coming weeks AFCEE will be contacting homeowners with letters asking them to complete a survey form by providing any information they have on a residential or irrigation well on their property. Future actions might include telephone calls and door-to-door canvassing to collect well information.

If a homeowner is interested in keeping and using their well then a risk assessment will be completed. This would involve an evaluation of the depth of the well in proximity to the plume and may include testing of the well water. AFCEE will offer free decommissioning of any well that is found to present an unacceptable risk (this involves disconnecting piping to the house and filling in the well casing). If the decommissioning is not accepted, the Air Force will take other steps to insure protectiveness which may include requesting assistance from the appropriate Board of Health to prevent exposure, offering bottled water (if the well is used for drinking), installing a treatment system on the well or providing a municipal water supply connection. For more information, please contact Mr. Doug Karson, AFCEE Community Involvement Lead at (508) 968-4678, ext. 2; fax (508) 968-4673; or e-mail doug.karson@brooks.af.mil. To learn more about the cleanup program visit www.mmr.org.

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