State Senate amendment to aid homeowners with pyrrhotite in foundations

BOSTON ― A Senate amendment to the Affordable Housing Act passed legislators late Thursday would establish a special fund to help homeowners who find their foundations are crumbling to dust due to a naturally occurring contaminant in the cement used to build their homes.

The culprit: pyrrhotite, a sulfur compound that degrades over time and exposure to air and water. The mineral is found in veins that run through Connecticut and Central Massachusetts and was used extensively in concrete aggregate poured into countless foundations in homes built more than two decades ago.

While the state has already mandated testing quarries for the presence of the mineral, it has yet to address the needs of homeowners who stand to lose their homes. Connecticut has established a special fund that homeowners can tap into. The only solution is to raise the structure, dig out the old foundation and pour fresh concrete to support the home. It can be expensive, costing up to $200,000.

The Senate amendment would create a similar fund for Massachusetts residents.

"We've been pushing for this for seven years," said Ernie Gagnon, of East Longmeadow. "We just want Massachusetts to follow what Connecticut did, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel."

The amendment, sponsored in the Senate by Worcester-area lawmakers Republicans Ryan Fattman of Webster and Peter Durant of Spencer and Democrat Michael Moore of Millbury, was on the agenda for discussion. A contingent of some 50 homeowners, most from Central and Western Massachusetts, attended the formal session to show their support.

Durant, who spoke to the group late in the afternoon, said the Senate had received a redraft of the amendment from the Committee on Ways and Means and members could vote on it during Thursday's formal session. The amendment passed when it came up for a vote.

"This amendment sets up the fund, the administrative parameters, that will help homeowners," Durant said. While the measure does not identify a source for the money, it will set up specifications for tapping into it, who qualifies for help, and developing an agency to manage the requests.

Durant hopes that since the amendment passed, the Senate can determine a funding source by February 2025 and include it in the fiscal 2026 budget.

Once the presence of the mineral has been confirmed , the property loses value. Banks will not extend second mortgages to mitigate the issue, and homeowners insurance also fails to cover the costs.

"If my house falls down in a storm, if it burns down, insurance will cover it," Gagnon said, questioning why there is a failure to cover costs when the foundation fails.

While about a thousand Connecticut homeowners have tapped into that state's special fund, Gagnon believes the problem could be more extensive in Massachusetts. "There's a 250-unit condominium complex in Dracut that was discovered to be contaminated by pyrrhotite."

Gagnon built his home in 1992, calling it the family's dream home and his nest egg. Now, after working for more than 40 years, he needs governmental help. Now that he wants to cash in, downsize and retire, he is faced with a foundation that is turning to dust. He called it a kick to the stomach.

"Sell it? That would be criminal," Gagnon said, noting that some desperate homeowners take that option, failing to disclose the problem, especially in the climate where desperate buyers engage in bidding wars and agree to purchases without inspections. "I want to sleep at night."

The problem affects whole communities, not just the homeowners who discover pyrrhotite in their basements.

"Municipalities lose tax revenue. If a house loses almost 100% of its value, a homeowner gets an abatement on their taxes, it can affect the whole municipal budget," Gagnon said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: State Senate amendment to aid homeowners with pyrrhotite in foundations