Read the full article by John Miller (Albuquerque Journal).
“A type of firefighting foam still kept on hand at some airports and known to contain high levels of PFAS — or ‘forever chemicals’ — has become the target of a mandated cleanup effort in New Mexico, the first state to classify aqueous film-forming foam as hazardous waste.
The state’s Environmental Improvement Board on Monday ratified the classification of the substance in a unanimous vote, granting the New Mexico Environment Department direct authority to require cleanup from polluters and ‘strictly limit’ the firefighting foam’s use in the state.
The vote comes a year after state Environment Secretary James Kenney supported the passage of House Bill 140, which first added PFAS-containing firefighting foam to the state’s definition of ‘hazardous waste’ when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it into law last year.
NMED General Counsel Zachary Ogaz told the Journal on Wednesday that Monday’s action clarifies HB 140’s legal framework, defining the chemical makeup of aqueous film-forming foam and solidifying the agency’s legal authority to regulate it, which Kenney echoed in a statement this week.”…