The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority has rejected the Town Council’s call to shut down the foaming fire suppression system in Hangar 6, saying that they are not legally allowed to do so.

MRRA board members voted unanimously Tuesday — with one member abstaining — to explore alternative fire safety options for Hangar 6, which uses a PFAS-containing foaming system, without disrupting the current setup. The decision came after the board spent just over an hour in executive session discussing the action items the Town Council requested in September.

The council voted in early September to push for the shutdown of a fire suppression system in Hangar 6, which uses a PFAS-containing firefighting foam, by the end of the month. The concern to shut the fire suppression system down and adopt a method of defueling planes before storing stemmed from concerns of another spill risk. MRRA-owned Hangar 4 spilled 1,450 gallons of toxic foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water in August.

Vice Chairperson John Peters, filling in for board Chairperson Herman “Nick” Nichols (who was absent for family matters), reiterated prior to executive session that MRRA was sorry for the spill and that the organization had the same goal as the public: to remove toxic firefighting foam known as AFFF from the former Naval Air Station.

“Our mutual interests are sometimes lost in the stress of the last few weeks,” Peters said. “We are all in this together.”

He said that AFFF is a global problem, especially since it is mandated and was widely considered a miracle product until science proved otherwise. He also noted that the cost to pursue alternatives that abide by fire code will be expensive and well outside of MRRA’s budget, requiring outside funding. 

Peters reiterated that the board is staffed by volunteer, unpaid members who represent surrounding communities.

“In the meetings that I’ve observed or listened to, we’ve been accused of being greedy and trying to pad our own wallets,” Peters said. “There isn’t one person on this [board] who has received a dime in remuneration for their work and their volunteer efforts, unlike members of the Town Council or members of the Legislature, who are paid.”

Peters said after the meeting that he was referencing points made in previous Town Council meetings in public comment and that the comparison of financial compensation to the Town Council and state Legislature was “important to point out.”

State reps slam MRRA for no opportunity to comment

Tensions between the board and town and state leaders were building prior to the meeting, when Brunswick leaders Sen. Mattie Daughtry and Rep. Dan Ankeles slammed the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority board for not hearing public comment to open the meeting.

The two leaders, who have been critical of the quasi-state agency that manages property at the former Naval Air Station for its response to a disastrous Aug. 19 firefighting foam spill, released a joint statement Tuesday morning for MRRA’s choice to “dodge and deflect” concerns from the public.

“MRRA is once again showing little regard for the pleas and the anger from the people of Brunswick and other impacted communities,” the lawmakers wrote in the statement. “Its hostility to hearing about the experiences of community members and absorbing hard truths is telling, but also consistent with a long pattern of opacity and insularity.”

The two also reiterated a long-running call to remove AFFF from the MRRA-owned hangars at the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick to prevent another spill. MRRA, they said, refused to address calls for accountability and seem incapable of managing the health and financial risk that the Navy-era systems pose to the community, they said.

“The fact that MRRA continues to dodge and deflect underscores the need for major reform,” Daughtry and Ankeles said. ” … An $8 million ticking time bomb is too big of a liability to leave there without immediate state intervention. Replacing the authority with something truly accountable to the community should be considered if this pattern of deflection and denial can’t be replaced with real collaboration.”

MRRA responded via email Tuesday afternoon, stating that the evening emergency meeting was an opportunity for the board to consider the Town Council requests, progress the board has made and potential ways to remove AFFF from its hangars.

“In the past month or so, there have been four opportunities for the public to share their feelings, concerns, idea, and thoughts, and MRRA has been at every one of those. We have listened, taken careful notes, and participated — we are using the information we have gathered to help guide our decision making moving forward,” Executive Director Kristine Logan wrote in the email. “The last public comment opportunity was at MRRA’s Board meeting on the 20th, less than a week and a half ago. All MRRA’s regular Board meetings allow time in the agenda for public comment.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board made remarks similar to Logan’s on why there was no public comment at this particular session.

Logan also said in her email that the board needs dedicated time to discuss urgent matters and find a solution for the toxic foam in the hangars. She described the situation as “highly complex” and that MRRA was “turning over every stone to find a solution.”

Daughtry and Ankeles said in their statement that they will be submitting legislation in the next legislative session to ensure Brunswick residents can have ownership of the agency.

The criticism comes ahead of just the second emergency MRRA board meeting in the wake of the spill. The first was held on Sept. 20 on Brunswick Landing, almost exactly one month after 1,450 of firefighting foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water was accidently released at the airport.

The foam contains PFAS — also known as “forever chemicals” — and is known to be toxic to human health. MRRA, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies have been responsible for ongoing cleanup and testing efforts since the incident occurred. The firefighting foam spill is one of the worst in the last 30 years, the Portland Press Herald reported.

The next MRRA board meeting will take place on Oct. 10. The place and time will later be determined.