Other Events
PFOA Contamination Issues
During 2016, the Company was significantly involved in assisting the New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services (“NHDES”) in assessing and bringing remediation
solutions to bear, in light of the PFOA contamination issues discovered in the towns surrounding
the Saint Gobain Performance Plastics (“SGPP”) site in north Merrimack. This included self-
instituting comprehensive and regular testing of the Company’s water supplies and water
systems, not only in the area adjacent to this site, but taking and processing at least two sets of
tests at all water sources that the Company owns throughout the State. This was done in order to
detect if any levels of contamination existed in the water sources, to aid the NHDES in
completing their statewide assessment, and to allow the Company to respond with certainty to
any of its customers as to any detectable levels. With regards to the water supply systems
directly adjacent to or connected to the Merrimack Village District, the Company has been
taking weekly or monthly samples since this contamination site was disclosed in March of 2016.
The results of these tests were that none of the Company’s water sources had detectable levels
exceeding EPA lifetime advisory levels, or the State’s emergency and impending permanent
standard detection levels.
Additionally, at the request of the NHDES, the Company was asked to enter into a contract with
SGPP for the design of the expansion of public water to residents in the northern portion of
Litchfield, where private wells had been contaminated, in some cases well above acceptable
levels. Based upon the results of that design work, the Company was then contracted by SGPP
to expand the public water system owned by the Company in Litchfield to approximately 400
property owners, including nearly 10 miles of new water mains and nearly 10 miles of new
service lines. The cost of the design work and the expansion of the water system has and is
being paid totally by SGPP and was contributed to the Company as Contributions in Aid of
Construction (CIAC), as assets to be owned by the Company, the Town, or the residents (in the
case of the service lines) going forward.
Additionally, during 2018 the Company was asked by NHDES to contract for similar design
services with SGPP for expansion of its public water system in southern Bedford. This project
was initiated in 2018, and is slated for completion in the first half of 2019, bringing water to
approximately 90 new customers in that community.
The Company was also asked by the NHDES to design a further buildout for SGPP in Litchfield
to bring public water to an additional 30 residences in Litchfield, due to this contamination site.
It is anticipated that SGPP will enter into another contract with the Company for the expansion
of the Company’s water system in that area, construction of which would expect to begin in the
Summer of 2019, and would be fully paid for by SGPP, and included in CIAC assets at such time
as those projects were completed.
As of March 20, 2018, SGPP and NHDES entered into a Consent Decree, and as such, the
Company is currently working with SGPP in the scheduling of these projects, including the
construction management agreements tied to this activity. Under the Consent Decree, SGPP
needs to fulfill their obligations by November 2019 on all of these currently identified activities.
