The U.S. Air Force recently unveiled a timeline to implement a cleanup system that would address toxic "forever chemicals" in the Au Sable River. Some Oscoda residents are now calling on the USAF to pick up the pace.
The Three Pipes Ditch is a stormwater sewer off the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base that discharges PFAS-contaminated water into the Au Sable, which drains into Lake Huron.
The USAF announced earlier this year it would implement a cleanup system to target the area, but it won't be until 2027 before that system goes online.
USAF environmental manager Steve Willis explained the reasoning behind the timeline at the May 15 Restoration Advisory Board meeting.
He said the USAF is currently monitoring the Three Pipes Ditch, and funding will be allocated for the site during the next fiscal year.
"I've gotta get a contract awarded, we've gotta write a work plan, get it approved, and then actually implement the remedy," Willis said. "It just takes time."
Community RAB members like Scott Lingo expressed their frustration with the slow roll out on the southern sites.
Lingo commented on how the Au Sable River is a highly-trafficked area during the summer, and the "most obvious point source...that people can see flowing into the river."
"Time is our enemy, and human health is being destroyed," he said. "... Can we cut down some red tape? Geez, give us the sponges. We'll get local contractors to put them in the stream. What do we have to do to get stuff going?"
RAB community member and co-founder of Need Our Water, Cathy Wusterbarth learned that the USAF is still searching to fill an open position that could help expedite cleanup.
"We're getting a little impatient here," Wusterbarth said. "The Three Pipes Ditch seems like it's low hanging fruit that could be easily taken care of and we are perplexed why you can't take action on that."
Another southern source that also leaches into the Au Sable (WWTP) is on a similar schedule to the Three Pipes Ditch.
The two northern sites (DRMO and LF30/31) off Van Etten Lake were also granted cleanup systems within the last year. A cleanup system plan for those sites will be developed by the first quarter of 2025 and construction would wrap up in early 2026.
Existing cleanup systems
A representative from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy presented at the meeting on the status of the three existing systems at Wurtsmith.
Tarek Buckmaster, from the EGLE water resources division, said that all operating systems are in compliance with the state's groundwater standards.
"The EPA has not promulgated groundwater remediation guidelines for specific remediation guidelines," Buckmaster said. "In the absence of having federal guidelines, the state is required to establish best professional judgment technology-based limits."
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency implemented federal drinking water standards for two PFAS compounds. The rule mandates public water suppliers to test for PFOA and PFOS and if necessary, implement treatment systems by 2029 to meet the criteria.
Top Department of Defense officials have promised to use the drinking water standards as a criteria for private wells near base cleanups. WCMU has been unable to confirm how this will affect USAF cleanup in Oscoda and Grayling, if at all.
Construction on the horizon
Oscoda residents have previously called on the USAF to expand the scope of a proposed cleanup system at the Alert Aircraft Area to capture a larger portion of the plume.
The USAF has not changed its design, and construction on that system will begin this June and wrap up by the end of the year.
