October 20, 2017

Good afternoon,
As many of you know, the construction of municipal water lines in Bennington and North Bennington began this week. Water service will be extended to properties with on-site wells contaminated or threatened by perfluooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the area where the State of Vermont and Saint-Gobain have settled Saint-Gobain’s liability. Saint-Gobain is also continuing an investigation of the affected properties east of Route 7 with oversight from the Agency of Natural Resources.

 Here's What You Need To Know About The Waterline Extensions

Town of Bennington’s waterline extension: 
  • The extension will be 10 miles long.
  • It will serve ~155 individual properties in the northwest portion of the Town.
  • Property owners in the Town of Bennington who are undecided whether to connect to town water are advised to make their decision as soon as possible. Property owners who decide they want to connect should contact MSK Engineering & Design at (802)-447-1402, ext. 3 to schedule an inspection and begin the paperwork process.

Village of North Bennington’s waterline extension:
  • The extension will run 4 miles.
  • It will serve ~55 individual property connections.
  • The project was awarded to W.M. Schultz Construction, Inc.
  • Construction began on October 13, 2017.
  • If you have questions relating to this project please contact Otter Creek Engineering, Inc. at (802) 747-3080.

What’s the Timeline?
Construction contractors will work as long as weather permits and will focus on laying distribution piping. While it is possible some service connections will occur this year, most homes and businesses covered under the settlement with Saint-Gobain will be connected to municipal water next construction season. Both projects are currently estimated to be completed by October 2018.

How Will Soils Be Managed?
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is wanting to address concerns about soil generated throughout the construction process. DEC is working with the Town, project engineers, and contractors, to keep soils as close as possible to where the soils are being removed, which will reduce truck traffic and the amount of soils placed as fill at any given location. DEC is also working to ensure that soils generated from the waterline work are managed in a way that does not have the potential to spread PFOA contamination to new areas inadvertently.

The Plan is as Follows:

  • The top priority is to put as much soil back into the waterline trenches as possible and every effort will be made to keep soils as close as possible to where they were generated.

  • The next option will be to place excess soils into the public right-of-way adjacent to the waterline.

  • If excess soils remain following this work, approved private landowner locations will be used. Properties receiving fill must be located within an area that is being connected to municipal water; within an area with limited erosion potential; greater than 100 feet from a wetland, river corridor, or FEMA 100-year floodplain; outside a drinking water source protection area; and away from homes that are in an area not being connected to municipal water.

As many of you are aware, the VT 279 right-of-way near Austin Hill Road was being considered as a location to place soils. The Town and DEC are in the process of revising and re-submitting the Environmental Assessment associated with using the right-of-way to receive soil. The revisions will include responses to public comments. The VT 279 right-of-way location will only be used as a last resort, should the property receive approval for this activity. 


For More Information:
  • Engineers and contractors submitted a plan to manage these soils. This plan and other updates from DEC can be found on the DEC web page.
  • For questions, please contact Elle O'Casey at elle.ocasey@vermont.gov
You are receiving this e-mail because you have requested to be updated on Vermont's PFOA response efforts, or because your well was recently sampled. If you wish to stop receiving these updates, you may unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of this e-mail. 
Department of Environmental Conservation
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
1 National Life Drive, Main 2
Montpelier, VT 05620-3520