Brunswick questions airport group’s tax benefits after foam spill

Some Brunswick-area residents are continuing to demand more accountability from the organization that runs the local airport after toxic firefighting foam spilled out of one of its hangars and into the surrounding environment two months ago, even after the group’s executive director resigned earlier this month.
Each year, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority must ask the town of Brunswick to approve its plan for the use of tax-increment financing funds. But this year, concerns from the public regarding the August spill of PFAS-containing foam have led the Town Council to reconsider passing the authority’s plan in its current form.
On Aug. 19, the fire suppression system in hangar 4 at Brunswick Executive Airport malfunctioned and released 1,450 gallons of PFAS-laden firefighting foam mixed with 60,000 gallons of water into the hangar and surrounding environment. The foam and water that could be cleaned up has been taken away and destroyed, but PFAS contaminants continue to be found in the surrounding environment — though it’s not yet clear if there has been any direct impact on residents.
Earlier this week, the Town Council delayed a decision on approving the TIF revenue for the authority’s plans.
During a workshop on Thursday night, town officials said there are several TIF districts in Brunswick Landing, where the authority has some level of control to help coordinate the development of the former naval base. Town manager Julia Henze said at the workshop that the authority receives about half of the financing to improve and develop Brunswick Landing, and the other half goes to the town.
Uniquely, the redevelopment authority must show what it plans to use the funds for each year and a Brunswick committee works with them to polish it. The town must then approve the plan. But since this year’s plan was finished and initially presented before the foam spill, it does not contain any measures for remediating the spill.
At least 11 people spoke during public comment at the workshop, calling for the town to not approve the plan until the authority adds steps to mitigate the spill with the TIF funds. Some called for ending the TIF district altogether.
“It’s just incredible that we’re even talking about doing anything else on that base, other than fixing it first,” said one Brunswick resident on Zoom, identified only by the screen name “Darrell.”
The authority’s executive director, Kristine Logan, stepped down earlier in October in the wake of the spill.
Its deputy director, Jeffrey Jordan, said at the workshop that the organization has a quote from a consultant to determine the risk of the still-existing fire suppression systems on the base malfunctioning. However, councilors said it’s unclear whether it’s lawful to use TIF money for a consultant.
The problem, according to the town manager, is that it’s difficult for the authority to make definitive plans for using TIF money on remediation efforts, since it does not yet know how much those efforts will cost. Replacing the PFAS-laden foam with an alternative material would cost seven figures, Jordan said.
“Are we talking about paying for new equipment that you might call the infrastructure, or are we talking about paying for studies?” Henze said. “I think first, we have to identify what the costs are, and then look for the funding sources.”
By the end of the meeting, the councilors decided to consider other options, including covering the consultant fee with TIF funds and potentially implementing a spill cleanup task force, before its next vote. However, since this was a workshop, the council was unable to make any actual voting decisions.