Federal officials confirmed Wednesday that two PFAS funding agreements totalling roughly $131 million are now finalized.
The funding is meant to aid cleanup work at the Jack Garland Airport site and move forward PFAS treatment planning for North Bay’s drinking-water plant.
The announcement took place at 22 Wing/CFB North Bay with Nipissing–Timiskaming MP Pauline Rochefort, Mayor Peter Chirico, and senior City Staff.
The agreements follow years of growing concern about PFAS — sometimes called ‘forever chemicals' — linked to historic firefighting foam used on the airport lands between the 1970s and 1990s, leading to "hot spots."
PFAS is the acronym for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, which are man-made, persistent chemicals used for their oil/water-repellent properties (non-stick pans, firefighting foam and others). Because of their persistence in the environment, PFAS are sometimes called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily.
PFAS has been detected in surface water and groundwater flowing toward Lee’s Creek and Trout Lake, the source of the City’s drinking water.
Many residents living near these areas say the uncertainty around their water has weighed heavily on them.
See: Public presses for answers as officials outline next steps in North Bay PFAS cleanup
Rochefort says PFAS science has advanced.
“Today we have a far better understanding of PFAS than we did a decade ago,” she said during the media event.
“Over the past nine years, more than 160 wells have been sampled. Testing showed that there's 25 private wells that exceeded provincial guidelines, and alternative water sources were provided to the affected residents.”
Chirico says Council’s approval Tuesday night allows the City to proceed with both expanded airport-site remediation and a six-month pilot project to determine how PFAS can be removed at the municipal drinking-water plant.
See: Federal deals could bring $131M to fight PFAS and upgrade water plant in North Bay
The first agreement—$8,249,214—funds the pilot testing and design work at the treatment plant, with the Department of National Defence (DND) covering 97 per cent and the City contributing roughly $247,476. The pilot will test treatment media and produce a “tender-ready package by the end of 2027.”
The second agreement amends the existing airport-site remediation project. It increases total project costs to $122,670,523 through 2037. DND again funds 97 per cent, while the City’s 3 per cent share, about $3.68 million, will be added to the 2026 Capital Budget.
The work includes continued remediation of soil, groundwater, and surface water in areas historically affected by the firefighting foam.
Chirico also addressed questions about private well owners.
“That is part of the concern,” he said. “DND is working together with those private homeowners to ensure that they have safe [water].”
When asked about the ongoing $105-million class-action lawsuit filed against the City and the Attorney General of Canada, Chirico said, “I can't speak about that.”
See: $105 million 'forever chemical' class action lawsuit launched against City of North Bay
The lawsuit seeks damages for private residential property owners with wells within three kilometres of 22 Wing/Jack Garland Airport since 2017 and asks for long-term remediation and access to safe drinking-water systems.
Karin Pratte, the City’s director of water, wastewater, and environmental services, says North Bay’s work is centred on remediation at the airport site and the safety of municipal drinking water, while DND manages offsite work with private properties.
“The intention there is that we will prevent and mitigate offsite migration of PFAS, which in turn will reduce PFAS concentrations in surface water and groundwater, which should reduce PFAS concentrations in surrounding wells,” Pratte said.
She noted that municipal water meets Ontario’s interim safety limit of 70 nanograms per litre (ng/L), though levels exceed Health Canada’s proposed objective of 30 ng/L.
The upcoming pilot project will test treatment options to help meet that 30 ng/L target, according to officials.
“I do expect that we’ll be doing this work (remediation) until 2037,” Pratte added.
"That is what our forecasts are showing ... we will continue to implement remediation as effectively as possible, and then we will continue to monitor. So it will be kind of like a living process where we'll implement remediation as we've done.”