Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, 701 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack

CONCORD — State Department of Environmental Services spokesman James Martin announced Monday that the agency has reached an agreement with representatives of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics that will eventually bring safe drinking water to roughly 1,000 properties on a permanent basis.

The properties and residences that will benefit from the agreement have wells that were contaminated by the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which Saint-Gobain used in the manufacture of the various products, including cookware, that the company produced.

The affected properties are spread over portions of Hudson, Litchfield, Merrimack, Bedford and Londonderry. According to Martin, the DES public information officer, the agreement “also provides a framework for moving forward on additional properties that may be impacted by Saint-Gobain.”

The roughly 1,000 properties have tested above the new standard — 12 parts per trillion — that was established in September 2019. Saint-Gobain has offered those properties bottled water.

Also part of the agreement was a plan to bring either a water line connection or a point-of-entry treatment (POET) system to 353 specific properties, nearly 200 of which are in the area south of County Road and east of Liberty Hill Road in Bedford.

Another 77 of those are in the Hillcrest Road area of Litchfield.

Martin said the DES will host a remote meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, for residents of all affected communities. Specifics of the agreement and the steps going forward will be discussed, and officials will field questions.

“Virtual office hours” will be scheduled for those who cannot take part in the general meeting.

For more information, or for the link to the meeting, go to www.des.nh.gov or contact Martin at james.p.martin@des.nh.gov.

Historically, according to Martin, DES launched a massive testing effort following the initial discovery in 2016 of PFOA in area drinking water. DES attributed the presence of the chemical to air emissions from the Saint-Gobain plant, which is at 701 Daniel Webster Highway, in the northern part of Merrimack.

The testing program was aimed at determining the extent of the contamination, Martin said. The DES also conducted emergency rulemaking to establish a groundwater quality standard for PFOA at 70 parts per trillion.

Saint-Gobain and the DES “worked cooperatively to quickly address those properties at greatest risk,” while providing interim bottled water to impacted residents.

They also began working on bringing point-of-use treatment systems (POET) or water line connections to over 500 properties, primarily in Litchfield and Merrimack. In 2018, the state and Saint-Gobain entered into a consent decree regarding work already completed, along with providing waterline connections to an additional 302 properties and setting the groundwork for future remediation efforts.

Monday’s agreement, according to Martin, states that Saint-Gobain must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that design work is initiated within 30 days, and that applications for regulatory approvals are completed or obtained by June 30.

Simpler connections to existing water lines are anticipated to begin this summer, with more complex water line extensions being constructed in 2023.

POET installations are also anticipated to begin this summer, following the submittal of a POET workplan by Saint-Gobain and approval by the DES.

In the coming weeks, according to Martin, owners of properties that have been specifically identified in the agreement should expect to receive additional information.

Property owners who have questions should call Saint-Gobain at 800-742-8498.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.