News From Recent BWSC Office Hours Meetings

MassDEP’s Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) will hold an Advisory Committee meeting this Friday, March 19, from 9 am to 11 am.  Zoom sign in protocol will be the same as it is for the weekly BWSC Office Hours. Read more here.

The LSPA very much appreciates the Office Hours that occur weekly (except this week) on Thursdays at 9 am. Click here for more information and here to see the library of meeting video recordings.

Below are a few recent tidbits for your information.

PFAS Source Signatures in Coastal Watersheds on Cape Cod
There has been much discussion in the past weeks regarding a paper titled, “Isolating the AFFF Signature in Coastal Watersheds Using Oxidizable PFAS Precursors and Unexplained Organofluorine,” authored by Harvard and USGS scientists Bridger J. Ruyle, Heidi M. Pickard, Denis R. LeBlanc, et al. in Environmental Science & Technology, published by the American Chemical Society, March 1, 2021. More information is here.

The Boston Globe published an article on the study and related issues on March 8, 2021.  

MassDEP Interactive Story Maps on PFAS in Public Water Systems
MassDEP’s website page on PFAS is full of useful information.

The third item on this page, titled PFAS detected in drinking water supplies in Massachusetts, shows a story map with seven tabs that present interactive maps, dashboards and photographs describing the efforts by MassDEP and Public Water Suppliers to address PFAS contamination. Tabs 3 and 4 show which municipalities in the Commonwealth have had their PWSs tested and the status of PFAS detections and responses by public water systems.

Check back regularly for updates.

Technical Assistance Grants
At the March 4 BWSC Office Hours meeting, Liz Callahan, BWSC Acting Division Director, Policy & Program Development, announced that the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program provided for in the MCP (310 CMR 40.1450 through 40.1499) is being revitalized after having lapsed since 2011. Liz Callahan reported that DEP is hoping the program will begin in early July 2021. To be added to MassDEP’s Pre-Notice mailing list, please email [email protected].
 
Community groups, municipalities, and others (but not PRPs) are eligible for TAG grants, each of which is expected to be in the ballpark of $15,000. The program is still under development. 
 

 

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