By Alex Brooks
Since Saint-Gobain has said it discontinued the use of PFOA in its production process about 15 years ago, there has been speculation about what chemicals they are using now to replace it. Mayor Robert Allen said at the February 13 Village Board meeting that the Village received information in December that a chemical known as Gen-X is used in Saint-Gobain’s current production process. Gen-X has not been studied as extensively as PFOA, but it is also suspected of being carcinogenic. Allen said he was concerned because there is significant research leading to the finding that GAC filters are inefficient at filtering out Gen-X from water. Since the current testing protocol does not test for Gen-X or other chemicals that might be used to replace PFOA, Allen was eager to test the water here for it.
Allen got in touch with Dr Detlef Knappe, a professor at North Carolina State University who has been involved in investigating Gen-X contamination in the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. The contamination there came from Chemours, formerly DuPont, which was the company that kept secrets for decades about the toxicity of PFOA. Knappe agreed to test samples from Hoosick Falls in his lab, which is set up to test for Gen-X. The results showed no Gen-X anywhere in the Village water system – not in the raw water, nor the treated water, nor the wastewater.
The State has been a willing partner in this investigation, and they set up the Wadsworth Lab to test for Gen-X and other perflourinated chemicals. They collected samples on January 18 and tested for a variety of perflourinated compounds. They also found no Gen-X anywhere in the Village water system. The State also tested groundwater from monitoring wells on Saint-Gobain’s McCaffrey Street site. Neither Gen-X nor several other possible replacement chemicals were detected in these tests. Allen was thankful to Dr. Knappe and to the New York State agencies who conducted this investigation.
GAC Filter Replacement
Allen announced last week that a small amount of a perflourinated chemical called PFBA was present in water coming out of the first GAC filter, but there was none in the finished water that had been through both filters. This news raised the issue of determining when is the right time to replace the first filter, which will eventually fill up with the PFOA that it has been filtering out, and begin to lose its effectiveness. This is why there are two filters. While the right time for replacement has not yet been determined, Allen talked about how the replacement of the spent filter would be done. He said the piping in the water plant can be arranged to send the water into the second filter and take the first filter offline for the two or three weeks it takes to recharge it. After the clogged filter is recharged with fresh carbon, it will be put back online as the second filter in the series, and the system is all set for another year or so until the other filter starts getting too full of PFOA to work effectively. The two tank design assures non-stop effective filtration during the changeover process.
Blood Testing
Allen said the data from the first round of blood testing is just about ready to be presented to the community in its finished form. He said he hopes that will happen within a month or so. The State is also planning to implement a second round of blood testing to learn if levels are falling after having filtration in place for a period of time. The plan is to have blood samples taken at the Twin Rivers medical facility. Details are still being worked out, but Allen said he expects it to get started in “early spring.”
Alternate Water Supply
A public meeting is being planned to present alternatives that have been identified for getting access to alternative, PFOA-free supplies of water. Allen emphasized that this interim report will not choose one of the alternatives, but will simply present information about a variety of options and seek community comment on the various options. The date for such a meeting has not been set, but Allen gave the impression that it may be scheduled in a month or so.
Project Updates
The Village Board is seeking a consultant to lead the Woods Brook Drainage Improvement project funded by a Community Development Block Grant awarded in December. At its February 13 meeting it approved advertising a Request for Qualifications asking potential consultants to submit their proposals so that the Board can choose a firm to run the project. Allen said he hopes to select a consultant at the March meeting and get work started as early as April. The purpose of the project is to divert or slow down water coming down the hill in Wood’s Brook to minimize flooding in the downtown area.
A major sewer replacement project which has been in the planning stages for two years has gone out to bid. The estimated cost of the project is $3.8 million. A grant from the Clean Water Infrastructure Improvement Act awarded about a year ago will pay about $1 million towards the project, and the rest will be bonded.
Mayor Allen said the Snow Street Water Line replacement project is in the late design phase. He said the Village hopes to get it started this spring and have it finished by the end of summer. The Village is hoping to include in this project a new pumping station on Rensselaer Street, but does not yet know if the pump station will fit in the budget for the project.
A $30,000 study of the leachate coming out of the landfill is underway now and is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. It will probably recommend that a leachate collection and treatment system be installed, and the Village will be looking for a grant to implement that recommendation.
Police Report
Police Chief Robert Ashe said his department had 92 calls this month and made 10 arrests. Half of those were for aggravated unlicensed operation, as well as one each for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, DWI, Assault, Bench Warrant and Probation Violation.
Ashe said he will be losing another officer. He said his department is “busier and busier, and needs help.” The Board approved hiring Ryan Ashe as a part-time police officer.
Ashe said State Senator Marchione is seeking a member item to give extra funding to the HFPD. He noted that he is often being asked to respond to calls outside the Village because response time for other police agencies is often lengthy.
Police Grievance
The Village Board discussed a grievance filed by the police union concerning interpretation of the police contract with the Village. The contract provides for bonuses to reward longevity – a $500 bonus after 5 years, a $1,000 bonus after ten years and so on. The Village Board said these were intended to be one-time bonuses in the year that the milestone is reached, but the union claimed they thought the meaning was that there would a bonus each year after the milestone had been passed. They presented this interpretation to Chief Ashe, who rejected it, and said the bonus is given only in the milestone year. The Union appealed to the Village Board, who discussed it at the February 13 meeting and agreed with Chief Ashe’s interpretation. If the union wants to pursue this grievance, the next step would be arbitration.
Summer Concerts
Trustee Kevin O’Malley said plans are being made for holding summer concerts at the Gazebo in Wood Park. The planned schedule of concerts includes the Hill Hollow Band on June 30, Blues for Breakfast on July 28 and The West Side Drive Band on August 18. O’Malley said the concerts last summer cost about $4,000 and this money was all raised privately. His group will again be seeking support from the community for the concert series.
In other business:
• The Board appointed Judy VanDerKar, Sandra Sargood, and Tony Hayes election inspectors for the March 20 Village election, which will be held from noon to 9 pm at the Village Hall, 24 Main Street in Hoosick Falls.
• Water Superintendent Hurlburt said banks are not calling the water department when they take a house. “We’ve had five or six vacant houses with frozen pipes. In two cases there was ice a foot thick inside the house. He said the Water Department does bill the bank for their time responding to such emergencies, but it would make more sense for the bank to have the water turned off before the pipes burst.
• The Board approved certification training for Hurlburt May 21 through 23.