Dane County Board tables vote on airport firefighting services

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The Dane County Board voted Thursday to delay a vote on a contract with the Air National Guard over firefighting services at the Dane County Regional Airport. The issue at hand? The cleanup of PFAS contamination stemming from firefighting foam at the airport. 

PFAS, also known as forever chemicals due to how long it takes for them to break down in the environment, is found in a variety of products, including some nonstick cookware and firefighting foam used at airports. PFAS has been linked to a litany of cancers and developmental issues, as well as low birth weights. The US Environmental Protections Agency has found that almost any amount of PFAS is unsafe. 

PFAS has been found in several Madison water wells, with one well near the airport having to be shut down in 2019 due to high levels of PFAS found in the water. It has also been found in almost all of Madison’s lakes and Starkweather Creek, and a fish advisory is in effect warning people that fish eaten out of those waters contain PFAS.

Under the contract discussed at the County Board meeting, the Air National Guard would be able to continue using the Dane County Airport in exchange for firefighting services. But, it would also clear the National Guard of any legal liability for any PFAS contamination they might cause.

National Guard officials and attorneys for the county say that the language is only applicable for any future contamination. But county supervisors worry that the language could be used to shield the National Guard from any cleanup efforts at the airport. While the National Guard is currently working to clean up PFAS stemming from the airport, supervisors worry that, if the extent of the current contamination is found to be broader in the future, the National Guard would not be legally responsible for that cleanup.

County Board supervisors voted to delay the vote to change the language of the contract to clearly specify that the National Guard would only be exempt from future contamination. Supervisor Sarah Smith, who brought forward the request to table the vote, said that the change should be a simple request that only codifies what they’ve been told by the National Guard.

But Amy Tutwiler, a county attorney, says that it’s not that simple, and that they have been told multiple times by the National Guard that the language cannot be changed. Tutwiler says that the language is official National Guard policy, and cannot be changed. 

Tutwiler adds that county officials have been told multiple times through email that the National Guard is only free from liability for future contamination, and not contamination that occurred before the contract is signed. She said that, if a dispute were to arise in the future, those emails could be used as evidence against the National Guard.

Ultimately, the board voted 21-11 to delay the vote and negotiate with the National Guard to have that language added into the contract. The board will vote again on the contract on January 18.