Read the full article by Nick Gibson and Amanda Sullender (The Spokesman-Review)
“Documents recently released by Spokane County Commissioner Al French raise more questions about the government and community response to the contaminated waters of the West Plains.
Days after an article ran in The Spokesman-Review highlighting activists’ concerns over French’s response to the tainted water supply, French, who sits on the Spokane International Airport Board, provided documentation rebutting those claims.
French also pointed to shortcomings among those activists’ own response and that of the state’s regulating environmental agency, countering what he has described as political attacks as he seeks re-election .
The emails, contracts and assorted documents French provided highlight attempts by the airport to disclose the PFAS contamination to the public dating back to its 2017 discovery, seeming inconsistencies between the state Department of Ecology’s response to a past toxic chemical spill at Spokane International Airport and the current enforcement order imposed on the airport, as well as disorder among the activists’ working to educate others. The chemicals seeped into the water from firefighting foam at nearby Fairchild Air Force Base and the Spokane International Airport and are linked to a host of health problems.”…