Traverse City commissioners agreed Monday to pay for more than $40,000 in clean-up costs related to two accidental releases of firefighting foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during training incidents at Cherry Capital Airport. But the airport’s unwillingness to contribute to costs – which several city commissioners felt should be a shared responsibility, since the airport contracts with the city for firefighting services – prompted commissioners to tell staff they want to explore ending the agreement.

Two accidents in November and December involving the same airport-owned crash-fire truck resulted in PFAS-laced foam being discharged onto airport property, generating over $40,000 in clean-up costs. PFAS are a group of dangerous yet widely used chemicals in firefighting foam and other industrial applications which have been linked to harmful health effects on humans. The first accident was a training error made by a firefighter, according to Traverse City Fire Department Chief Jim Tuller, but the second incident was attributed to a mechanical failure of the airport’s truck due to improper maintenance. At their March 1 meeting, city commissioners asked City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht to analyze the airport contract to determine if the airport could bear any responsibility for costs, noting TCFD only uses PFAS foam – at risk to its own firefighters – because of federal regulations requiring its use at airports. Those requirements are set to be lifted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October. Tuller also indicated he did not believe the TCFD was at fault for the second incident.

Trible-Laucht reviewed the airport contract and determined the city was responsible for the clean-up costs under the agreement language. City Manager Marty Colburn said he asked the airport to contribute anyway, but management declined. “I have spoken with Airport Director Kevin Klein regarding the incident thoroughly and have asked the airport to cover up to 50 percent of the cost,“ Colburn wrote to commissioners. “Mr. Klein indicated that he wasn't willing to pay the cost and believed it was the city's responsibility as the contractor of the agreement."

Commissioners agreed to pay the invoices Monday, citing Trible-Laucht’s opinion and their desire not to financially short the contractors who conducted the clean-up work. But the board expressed its unhappiness with the outcome, with Commissioner Christie Minervini saying she was “disappointed" the airport wasn't willing to work with the city as a partner. Commissioners asked staff to bring a report back to them at their April 5 meeting analyzing the pros and cons of the airport agreement, with several commissioners saying they either wanted to renegotiate the contract terms to better share liability between the city or airport, or else give the airport its required 90 days' notice that the city was leaving the agreement. That would require Cherry Capital Airport to find another entity to contract with to provide firefighting services at the airport. City staff agreed to prepare a report and bring it back for commissioners to discuss next month.