Jun. 24—The New Mexico Environment Department and state Department of Justice this week filed another lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force, wielding new legislatively authorized powers to order the cleanup of contamination around Cannon Air Force Base in eastern New Mexico.
The state for years has tried to get the Air Force to clean up per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that spread in water systems and soil around Clovis as a result of water discharges. The substance, commonly known as the “forever chemical,” is often found in firefighting foams. Exposure can cause cancers, reproductive risks and developmental defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Air Force didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in 1st Judicial District Court.
State and federal agencies initially detected contamination on and around Cannon Air Force Base in 2018, and it remains in the area today. The state at the time ordered the Air Force to clean up the mess, but the federal government responded by appealing the order in state and federal court, arguing that state laws don’t give it jurisdiction over PFAS. The federal court dismissed the case, but the case at the New Mexico Court of Appeals is ongoing.
So, NMED Secretary James Kenney turned to the Legislature, asking policymakers to amend definitions in the “Hazardous Waste Act,” to give the state authority to enforce cleanup measures for PFAS contamination from firefighting foam. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law earlier this year.
“We’re trying to make the community more whole in this new lawsuit,” Kenney said in an interview Tuesday.
The lawsuit also seeks to limit the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam to emergency purposes as well as require the Air Force to provide water treatment systems to residents whose water was affected by PFAS and install new drinking water lines in the spill area. It would additionally have the Air Force appraise nearby affected properties and pay the property owners for PFAS-related losses.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement that his agency is committed to using “every legal tool available to hold the federal government accountable” for the contamination and its impacts.
Kenney said he finds the need to pursue litigation to reach resolution “perplexing,” adding that other states with contamination from Air Force bases don’t have to fight in court to get it cleaned up.
“As a New Mexican, who’s not always been a New Mexican, there’s disparate treatment of the health and welfare of New Mexicans as compared to the rest of the country,” he said. “It’s super appreciated that between the AG, the governor, our Legislature and this department that we’re unified in saying that we want our day in court, and we want a jury trial, and we want New Mexicans to make some decisions about (this).”
