Read the full article by Kati Weis (CBS4)
“COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) – The attorney for Commerce City has sent a letter to Suncor notifying the oil refinery the city intends to file suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, alleging the facility may have polluted the city’s water supply with toxic ‘forever chemicals.’ The city’s mayor says the lawsuit is mainly fueled by “hundreds” of complaints the city has received from concerned residents.
‘It’s greatly concerning, and mostly, it’s really concerning to the residents who live here, relying on a clean environment,’ said Mayor Benjamin Huseman.
The letter alleges the refinery may have polluted the city’s drinking water with chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. They are referred to as ‘forever chemicals,’ because they build up in the body over time.
The letter says two types of PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, found in Commerce City’s drinking water, can cause developmental effects, cancer, and liver problems, among other health issues.
‘The biggest thing is making sure that we have a safe and healthy environment for our residents, that’s critical and that’s you know one of the biggest things that we can be doing as a city council is making sure that environment exists for the people that are here as well as for the surrounding community,’ said Huseman. ‘Ultimately that’s really what the desire of any action is going to be, is to reduce the release of those chemicals, and make sure that we don’t have to worry about whether or not we’re putting these chemicals in our water treatment facility plants.’
The South Adams County Water and Sanitation District supplies drinking water to Commerce City…”