Mar. 16—TRAVERSE CITY — Contractors that cleaned up after two of three toxic firefighting foam spills at Cherry Capital Airport will be paid, and Traverse City will foot the bill.
That had most city commissioners unhappy that the Traverse City Fire Department contract with the airport leaves the city financially exposed. They largely agreed Monday that they want to renegotiate the agreement or pull out, but opted to hold off giving formal notice to withdraw for now.
Instead, city Manager Marty Colburn will write a report on the pros and cons of the agreement in time for their April 5 meeting.
City leaders unanimously agreed to pay $33,526.16 to Northern A-1 Environmental Services, and $6,825 to Elmers Crane & Dozer. That's after city Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht reviewed the contract and agreed with airport administrators' position that cleaning up after the three spills should be the city's expense.
Commissioner Christie Minervini said she was disappointed that the city was on the hook for those two spills and one more, especially since it has insurance covering environmental cleanups — with a $25,000-per-incident deductible.
"It's really disappointing to me that we are on the hook for, in total, $56,000 for foam that was accidentally released at the airport, and any contract that we have should not leave taxpayers on the hook," she said, adding the approximately $16,000 cost for the first of three spills to the total.
That happened March 10, 2020, when a TCFD firefighter spilled 50 gallons of firefighting foam concentrate on a paved service ramp.
Then, a firefighter inadvertently hit the foam system button in an airport crash rescue truck while testing the truck's system on Nov. 28, causing foam to spill onto the airfield ground. A firefighter spotted foam in the water coming from the same truck a week later as water flowed onto a paved area during another systems test.
Cleanups after all three incidents aimed to keep the foam from seeping into the ground, Colburn previously said.
The foam contains chemicals in a group collectively referred to as PFAS, a family of chemicals that never break down and were once widely used in firefighting, making nonstick cookware and waterproofing clothing. A Federal Aviation Administration mandate that airport fire departments use foams containing the chemicals ends in October, but there's no approved replacement yet.
Commissioner Brian McGillivary referenced the mandate in arguing the cleanup costs shouldn't be the city's.
"The airport should be responsible for taking care of it ... regardless of how it gets out, and if they're not willing to, then I'm willing to give them a notice of withdrawal," he said.
Part of the cost for the Dec. 5 release is in dispute, in part over a disagreement between the airport and fire department over the cause, city Fire Chief Jim Tuller previously told commissioners. McGillivary said he wanted to resolve that issue so the city could recoup the money if possible.
Mayor Jim Carruthers said it's time for city staff to talk to airport administrators again noting the obvious frustration with the fire department and city being placed at risk for an organization totally out of the city's control.
"We need to revise the contract or consider asking the airport that you have 90 days to figure this out, or figure out a fire suppression program through someone else," he said.
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