Read the full article by Theresa Davis (Albuquerque Journal)
“Cannon Air Force Base is starting work with nearby landowners to test their water and soil for a group of chemicals known as PFAS.
Tests will help the military determine where an underground contamination plume migrated off the base.
But complex federal legal requirements have made the cleanup process of toxins that leaked into the Ogallala Aquifer frustratingly slow, Clovis dairy farmers and residents told Cannon officials last week.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) leaked into the ground from firefighting foam used in military training exercises. Similar problems have been reported at military bases and industrial sites across the country.
John Kern, director of the community group Clean Water Partnership at Cannon, said he is concerned that a short-term water treatment solution will not be operational until 2023.
‘Much of the community considers that to be a woefully inadequate response to the problem,’ Kern said during Cannon’s quarterly virtual public meeting about PFAS last week.”…