Chemicals in Martinsburg water may prove expensive

Suit filed over cleanup effort that could reach ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’

The remediation of toxic chemicals found in Martinsburg Borough's water wells could be expensive, according to one of the attorneys who filed a lawsuit for the borough's municipal authority against multiple chemical companies.

Martinsburg officials became aware of the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used in firefighting foam and other products within the past year after the Department of Environmental Protection tested the borough's wells.

Attorney Carla B. Pickrel of the law firm of Baron & Budd in Dallas, Texas, said eventually the cost to solve the chemicals could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, noting that a treatment facility may be needed.

That would be a capital investment up front followed by operational costs and maintenance over the years, she explained.

"It could very easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars," she said in reviewing the Martinsburg situation.

Pickrel said she has been involved with clean water issues for 20 years and that her law firm has filed 200 lawsuits involving the presence of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) getting into the nation's public water supplies.

She said she has represented many small communities that have had problems with chemicals leaching into the water supply.

In the case of Martinsburg, the use of aqueous film-forming foam to control possible catastrophic fires that may occur at the Altoona-Blair County Airport could be the reason for the presence of the chemicals in the Martinsburg water wells.

The lawsuit was initially filed in the Blair County Court but was moved to the U.S. District Court in Johnstown by one of the defendants, Tyco Fire products LP, which contends that it is immune from lawsuit because in making its foam products it has been following specifications outlined by the U.S. Navy.

Pickrel said that argument has been used in previous cases but that so far, it has been rejected.

She also stated that the Martinsburg lawsuit will likely be transferred to the U.S. District Court in South Carolina, where it will be one of many such legal actions involving clean water before federal District Judge Richard M. Gergel.

Presently the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines in Johnstown.

Pickrel said that in situations involving large numbers of lawsuits, the cases are assigned to one judge.

This multidistrict litigation process has been used in the last two years by many Blair County municipalities and school districts to resolve lawsuits brought against companies for the abuse of opioids, vaping effects on young people and the mental health problems caused by social media.

Gergel has presided over thousands of clean water cases stemming from the use of aqueous film-forming foams that have gotten into the nation's water supply.

He recently approved a $12 billion settlement to finance the cleanup of water supplies.

The issue for Pennsylvania has come to the forefront only recently with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection conducting testing throughout the state, and establishing standards governing the cleanup of the state's water supplies.

Martinsburg Borough Manager Richard Brantner Jr. said DEP tested the Martinsburg wells and determined they contained the PFAS mentioned in the lawsuit.

While the chemicals were found in the water supply, the manager indicated they are in low amounts.

In speaking to the Borough's engineers, he said it would be like two drops of food coloring being absorbed by 18 million gallons of water.

The Martinsburg wells, he insisted, are not contaminated.

Yet the federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the Municipal Authority states, "PFAS compounds have migrated through the soil and into the groundwater, have entered into (the borough's) critical water source relied upon by (plaintiff) to provide for its citizens and customers, and have contaminated plaintiff's property -- thereby subjecting Plaintiff, its customers, and the general public to the inherent danger of these chemicals."

The lawsuit in another section also reported, "PFAS have been detected in all four of Plaintiff's groundwater wells. On at least one occasion, PFAS have been present at levels well above EPA's Health Advisory Levels for (the chemicals)."

Brantner said DEP will require additional testing next year, but there are many unknowns at the moment.

What steps will have to be taken to remediate the potential problems are unknown and he noted, "We have no idea what it's going to cost."

How serious is the presence of the chemicals?

The lawsuit noted PFAS in question are found in nonstick cookware, waterproofing waxes, stain-preventing coatings as well as firefighting foams. Branter added other items such as skin care lotions and toothpaste.

The borough, he said, will do what it has to do to meet DEP standards and remove the chemicals from the water supply.