Bennington, VT News

PFOA Plume Spreads to Shaftsbury and South Bennington

Groundwater testing in southern Bennington County and Shaftsbury confirms PFOA contamination has migrated into new areas. Recent well samples show levels up to 15 times above safety thresholds, prompting over 100 affected property owners to seek legal counsel.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 14, 2026

Randy Breland, Managing Editor

PFOA Plume Spreads to Shaftsbury and South Bennington

Groundwater testing in southern Bennington County and southeastern Shaftsbury confirms that toxic PFOA contamination has migrated beyond its original containment boundaries. Recent well samples revealed chemical levels reaching up to 15 times higher than legal safety thresholds, prompting over 100 local property owners to consult with legal counsel regarding potential class-action litigation.

Why it matters here

For families across Bennington, North Bennington, and Shaftsbury, safe drinking water is a daily priority. The discovery that contaminated plumes are continuing to shift means households that previously believed their private wells were safe now face serious health risks, decreased property values, and the burden of securing clean water.

Testing reveals widespread plume migration

Sampling conducted by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Sites Management Section revealed that perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA, has migrated south of Route 9 and into southeastern Shaftsbury. These areas were previously considered outside the state recognized zone of concern.

A long-term joint study led by Bennington College Professor David Bond in partnership with state environmental officials analyzed 4,797 groundwater samples collected from 698 private wells between 2016 and 2024. The data revealed that nearly three-quarters of re-tested private wells showed rising PFOA concentrations over time, confirming that the groundwater contamination is moving and concentrating rather than dissipating.

While PFOA concentrations decreased in 84 studied wells, 239 wells showed measurable increases over the eight-year evaluation window.

“PFAS is a generational disaster, and we’re only now starting to figure out what it means to respond to an environmental health crisis of this scale,” Bond said.

Understanding the source and safety limits

The pollution originates from the former ChemFab Corporation manufacturing facility, located on Water Street and Northside Drive in North Bennington. The plant was later purchased and operated by French multinational Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics before closing in 2002.

During its years of operation, the facility produced Teflon-coated fiberglass fabrics. The drying and curing processes released PFOA through smokestacks, depositing the chemical onto surrounding soil where it gradually leached into local groundwater systems over decades.

Recent private well testing in newly affected areas shows PFOA levels far exceeding state and federal guidelines:

Vermont Drinking Water Advisory Standard: 20 parts per trillion for the sum of five PFAS compounds.
U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level: Enforceable federal standard set at 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA.
Recent Local Well Samples: Contamination levels testing up to 15 times above regulatory standards.

State response and municipal actions

In response to the shifting plume, the State of Vermont is offering immediate relief to affected residents. Homeowners in newly impacted neighborhoods can receive free private well testing, bottled water delivery, and Point-of-Entry Treatment filtration systems.

State environmental officials and municipal leaders held public informational sessions, including a major meeting at the Bennington Firehouse, to share data from 131 sampled residences. Meanwhile, local leaders in Shaftsbury are pushing for broader healthcare support.

The Shaftsbury Selectboard and municipal officials are formally petitioning the State of Vermont to provide medical blood-level testing for residents exposed to toxic PFAS in their drinking supply. State officials also remain in negotiations with Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics to cover infrastructure costs and fund long-term municipal water line extensions.

Legal precedent and new class-action efforts

With test results showing expanded contamination, over 100 newly affected property owners across southern Bennington and Shaftsbury have begun meeting with legal representation, including personal injury and environmental law firms such as Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC, to explore legal action.

The effort follows a landmark $34 million class-action settlement in the case of Sullivan et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., approved in April 2022 by Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont.

That 2022 agreement provided significant relief for the original target area:

$26.2 million: Allocated for property devaluation compensation and municipal water line extensions.
$6 million: Dedicated to fund a 15-year medical monitoring program for exposed residents.

Attorneys representing the newly impacted homeowners argue that residents in Shaftsbury and southern Bennington are entitled to similar medical monitoring and financial compensation now that official testing confirms their water was polluted by the same industrial plume.

During the 2022 court approval, Bennington resident and class-action plaintiff Marie-Pierre Huguet reflected on the protracted struggle for clean water and accountability.

“There were times in the past six years when it felt that today would never come… Today will allow us to move forward,” Huguet said.

What comes next for local residents

Residents living south of Route 9 or in southeastern Shaftsbury who rely on private drinking wells are encouraged to request free testing through the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Local leaders urge community members to attend upcoming municipal meetings to stay updated on filtration support and water line extension plans.