We know from emails Green provided to The Times that the EPA is investigating reports that she used her special government employee position to influence projects sheвЂ™s working on as a paid consultant, including on MarthaвЂ™s Vineyard, even though sheвЂ™s never done any work related to PFAS for the federal agency.ДЄfter The Times reported on EPAвЂ™s concerns with Green, and that the Oak Bluffs board of health was holding a public forum pertaining to PFAS, Green remained actively involved in the behind-the-scenes responses by school officials. Every drop of PFAS you add to that Island is yours to keep.вЂќ вЂњYou are a sandbar, and your drinking water comes from the rain. вЂњYou guys are a sandbar,вЂќ Kristen Mello, an analytical chemist, PFAS investigator, and city councilor from Westfield, added. Graham Peaslee, a professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame, said, вЂњThis is a nationwide problem itвЂ™s not MarthaвЂ™s Vineyard alone.вЂќ He warned that the Vineyard has a вЂњvery preciousвЂќ and вЂњlimitedвЂќ freshwater supply, вЂњand the more PFAS you put into it, the more that you will be drinking, and the more that will show up in you and your childrenвЂ™s blood.вЂќ вЂњWe just want to arm MarthaвЂ™s Vineyard with the facts so you can make the correct decision for your Island, your environment, and your residents,вЂќ she said. Kyla Bennett, director of science policy for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an ecologist and attorney, had no ulterior motive to provide testimony.

When youвЂ™re bringing up toxins such as asbestos and dioxin in the same breath as PFAS, that should get everyoneвЂ™s attention. These scientists were dealing in facts, which could hardly be tossed aside as вЂњscare tacticsвЂќ that Donahue accuses the Field Fund of dealing in.Д«ut what they said was, indeed, scary. The experts were brought in to talk about PFAS as the board considers draft regulations that include a potential ban on playing fields that incorporate PFAS. We wanted to ask Donahue what he thought of comments made by five scientists before the Oak Bluffs board of health last week, but he didnвЂ™t return our call. Green is dealing in science, he would say, while the Field Fund is dealing in вЂњscare tactics.вЂќ School officials and other proponents of the synthetic turf field looked and acted like they had something to hide -В and it appears they did.ДЇor months, Donahue has been calling out the Field Fund, a group advocating for grass fields, saying theyвЂ™ve provided no expert rebuttal to Green. WeвЂ™ve seen emails where Green has access to the schoolвЂ™s consultant, Chris Huntress, as well as school officials involved in the project, and yet she was being paid by outside interests. Later he told the MarthaвЂ™s Vineyard Commission that the intent is to pay for the project with private donations, but that the school department was waiting for the project to be approved before seeking those donations for the facility.ДЄt the very least, Smith and other school officials should have been more open about GreenвЂ™s involvement in the project, and who hired her.

Assistant Superintendent Richie Smith has at times said the project is being funded by private donors, though he could not reveal them. The lack of transparency on the part of the school department has been disappointing. ThatвЂ™s not OK when youвЂ™re talking about a project at a public school. Green was hired on the Vineyard by Terry Donahue of although that arrangement was never clearly disclosed until our recent reporting on the issue.

Mv the day you went away