Shaheen Welcomes Air Force Decision to Treat All Three Contaminated Wells at Pease

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) welcomed today's decision by the U.S. Air Force to treat all three wells at the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth that are contaminated with perflourochemicals (PFCs). This afternoon, Senator Shaheen was informed of the decision by Miranda Ballentine, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy. Ballentine's agency also committed to taking the necessary steps to clean the regional aquifer of PFC contaminants.

“The Portsmouth community must have confidence that every effort is being made to restore the water supply at Pease,” said Shaheen “Today’s announcement is a big step forward and shows a real commitment from the Air Force to rid the Pease wells of these dangerous contaminants. I want to thank Assistant Secretary Ballentine for her leadership and look forward to working with her to achieve this shared goal.” 

Earlier this month, Senator Shaheen met with Ballentine to urge her agency to comply with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrative order that requires the Air Force to cleanup PFCs that contaminate the Haven Well. Spurred by an objection filed by the Air Force to the EPA order, Senator Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) also wrote a letter calling for the U.S. Air Force to immediately comply with the EPA order.

Shaheen and Ayotte also included language in the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act Report that presses the Air Force to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to PFCs found in the Haven Well. The provision requires the Air Force to report to Congress on its progress by September 30. If the notification is not complete by then, the language directs the Air Force to provide a plan to complete notification by the end of the year.