The town has chosen a site on Lowell Road for the proposed public safety complex. To date, the town has spent some $2 million for its architectural design. The link to the latest iteration of the building is here. At this time, the cost of the building is unknown but we suspect it will be north of $40 million. The recent Civic Engagement Night presentation by Tecton, the architectural firm, talked about the building’s elements but not its costs.

However, during the course of the presentation, the Tecton representative noted that the site was tested for PFAS contamination. Borings at the proposed building site revealed PFAS levels of 865 PPT. The MassDEP was notified. Here is a link to a page in the report noting the site contamination and the possible surrounding area should PFAs have traveled through groundwater to other areas.

The Jersey Street wells are contaminated with PFAs. MassDEP notes contamination levels at 15.4PPT. We have been insisting to the town administration and DPW that the levels of PFAS have been rising - and we were using raw water data. Now, our concern has been verified by the MassDEP and the on-site borings. Further borings will be done in November but we may not know the results before Fall Town Meeting. And we definitely will not know the town’s plan to remediate the PFAs nor the cost to us, the taxpayers.

Here is the link to the follow-up notification from MassDEP to the town: the Notice of Responsibility. This notice makes it clear that the town will need to provide a plan within 60 days for remediation of PFAs and disposal of the contaminated soils. It will also need to provide bottled water to residents with private wells where any of the PFAs compounds are found to be present. Please read this document carefully.

It will not be easy removing the contaminated soils - nor finding out how far PFAs has spread through the groundwater. We note that the proposed Leighton site development abuts the town lands. Our conjecture is that there is the possibility that PFAS has traveled westward toward Reedy Meadow Brook and the Nashua River. Please see the proposed Leighton Street build-out concept here.

If, after reading this website and doing whatever additional research you need to do, you want to write the DHCD here’s the principal person, address and email:

William Reyelt, Principal Planner, Smart Growth Programs, Massachusetts Dept. of Housing & Community Development, 100 Cambridge St, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02114. His email is: william.reyelt@state.ma.us.