State to name polluter of well

Residents will soon learn who the state thinks was responsible for contaminating a Westford well two years ago, but officials aren't saying when they'll assess the blame.

The process of identifying a responsible party began following last week's announcement that the state Department of Environmental Protection had set the nation's most stringent limit for perchlorate levels, at two parts per billion.

``Now that the regulations are promulgated, we'll be reviewing the available information as to who might be the responsible party in this case . . . and probably issue a Notice of Responsibility to the party or parties we determine to be responsible," department spokesman Edmund Coletta said in an e-mail to the Globe.

Coletta said the state assigns responsibility to make sure some entity takes steps to keep perchlorate -- a highly soluble salt derivative -- out of the water. Because the town has taken care of the problem and is filtering the water, he said, state officials are less concerned that residents are drinking perchlorate-tainted water.

``However, there will still be a review as to whether a Notice of Responsibility should be issued in this case," he added. He did not specify when.

In July 2004, one of eight wells used by the town to supply drinking water to its 21,000 residents was discovered to contain a chemical compound that is found in blasting caps used for construction projects. The contaminant can cause health issues in young children, nursing and pregnant women, and people with low-functioning thyroids.

In July 2004 , while the Cote well was registering perchlorate levels at just under four parts per billion, state regulations limited the level to no more than one part per billion. In March, the state proposed the standard of two parts per billion, which Robert Golledge Jr., commissioner of the state environmental department, said ``provides the best overall protection of public health, while setting a cleanup standard that is feasible and attainable."

After a series of public hearings, that proposal became law last week.

Coletta said the state has waited to identify the responsible party because ``it would be an enforcement action, and we wanted to have a fully formulated regulation to use as a guide."

Town officials shut down the well until this spring, when ion exchange filters were installed. The filters, which contain a resin that attracts and retains the chemical as the water passes through, are keeping the well operational. State officials allowed the well to go back on line in May, but the cost to the town still is being assessed.

Regular testing is ongoing, said Westford's environmental compliance manager, Jessica Cajigas, and though no perchlorate is being detected, officials anticipate it will be found again at some point.

``Realistically, we don't expect the water to stay at 0," she said when reached by phone Tuesday. ``We figure it's because the water hasn't been pumping for two years. Once we've been pumping for a while, we expect we'll draw it out."

The Cote well, located near Stony Brook School on Farmer's Way, is downhill from the site of the town's new Highway Department garage on North Street. To build the garage, officials hired the Maine Drilling & Blasting Co. of Gardiner, Maine, to blow up rock on the elevated site, allowing the foundation to be laid. The Maine company's president, Bill Purington, declined to comment when reached by phone Monday. In a 2004 interview, he told the Globe the company had used blasting caps containing perchlorate.

The state investigated other potentially responsible parties as well.

When asked what the financial impact of the perchlorate outcome will be to local government, Town Manager Steve Ledoux deferred comment while he waits to hear whether the town is deemed responsible.

``We have already taken some major steps by . . . the placement of the filtration system at the Cote well," he said. ``We certainly will look at some legal actions as well, but those strategies will need to be discussed with the selectmen in executive session."

Since 2004, when the state first issued its recommendation, drinking water supplies in 10 Massachusetts communities showed elevated levels, including Tewksbury and Boxborough. The source of Tewksbury's contaminant was discovered and eliminated in 2004. In May, a well at Boxborough's Harvard Ridge condominium project showed a perchlorate level of 1.05 parts per billion. The other well at the project has been off line since October 2004.

Joyce Pellino Crane can be reached at crane@globe.com.