City Seeks Compensation for Water Contamination
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – City Seeks Compensation for Water Contamination
DATE: 11/02/18
MEDIA CONTACT: Teal Soden, Communications Director, 907-687-9221, tsoden@fairbanks.us
The City of Fairbanks has retained two law firms, SL Environmental Law Group of San Francisco and Kennedy & Madonna of Hurley, New York, to assist the City Attorney’s Office with recovering the costs that the City has incurred in responding to the contamination of local groundwater caused by the historic use of firefighting foam at the Fairbanks Regional Fire Training Center (RFTC) on 30th Avenue. Kennedy & Madonna specializes in complex environmental and consumer litigation in both federal and state courts.
Firefighting foam, known as aqueous film-forming foam or AFFF, was used at the RFTC by several fire agencies for almost twenty years beginning in the mid-1980s. The product contains the toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances PFOS and PFOA. The local fire agencies using the foam were unaware of the risks posed by PFOS and PFOA.
Since the AFFF contamination was discovered, the City completely excavated the burn pit area at the RFTC and removed the contaminated soil pursuant to work plans approved by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The City also has tested approximately 400 samples taken from over 160 wells. Forty-eight properties, identified as exceeding federal health advisory levels for PFOS and PFOA, have been connected to Golden Heart Utilities or College Utilities. The City has spent just under $4 million in its remediation efforts to date.
With the help of SL Environmental and Kennedy & Madonna, the City intends to investigate and pursue claims against the manufacturers of firefighting foam whose actions have contaminated the City’s property and the groundwater supplying residents and businesses.
The City remains committed to providing up-to-date information on this issue. More information on the City’s response to the water contamination can be found at the following link: https://www.fairbanksalaska.us/engineering/page/water-contamination-issue
