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Contamination at Holloman as pressures increase on Air Force for environmental damages - AlamogordoTownNews.org
The New Mexico Environment Department and New Mexico Department of
Justice today filed a new lawsuit ordering the U.S. Department of the Air Force to clean up its toxic PFAS contamination at Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis.
Earlier this year, the New Mexico Legislature delivered House Bill 140 to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who promptly signed it in to law. The new lawsuit relies on existing and expanded authority under the new law.
“After years of contesting responsibility, today’s lawsuit puts every one of the Air Force’s excuses to rest,” said Environment Department Secretary James Kenney. “The Air Force has spent years contesting the Environment Department’s authority as opposed to any meaningful cleanup of the toxic PFAS contamination in local drinking water sources that serve both residents and dairy farmers.”
“PFAS contamination poses a serious and long-term threat to our environment and our communities,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “We are committed to using every legal tool available to hold the federal government accountable for the damage done on the base and the surrounding community and to prevent further harm from these dangerous ‘forever chemicals.’ New Mexicans deserve clean water, safe soil, and a future free from toxic exposure—
and we won’t stop fighting until they get it.”
While New Mexico has contended PFAS was subject to regulation under the Hazardous Waste Act since 2019, the USAF disagreed and filed a lawsuit against the NMED. During the last legislative session, HB 140 was introduced, explicitly designating discarded firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals as hazardous waste, clarifying state-level regulation even when these
substances aren’t federally listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as such.
For decades, the USAF released PFAS into the environment near Clovis, resulting in a
groundwater plume extending approximately four miles southeast of Cannon AFB. This toxic plume continues to threaten the community and resulted in the euthanizing of 3,500 dairy cows poisoned from drinking contaminated groundwater — devastating local agriculture.
In addition to cleaning up the decades of ongoing PFAS releases and paying civil penalties, the lawsuit seeks to order the USAF to:
End all use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam at Cannon for anything other than
emergency purposes
Provide water treatment systems to residents whose water has been affected by PFAS contamination
Install drinking water lines for any willing residents currently serviced by private wells in the spill area
Hold regular public meetings with the community
Install stormwater controls and retention basins to prevent offsite migration of PFAS
from contaminated media
Valuate nearby private property affected by PFAS contamination
Compensate the owners of said property for losses resulting from PFAS contamination
More News from Alamogordo
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- Isaiah Morningstar Of Holloman AFB Still Missing Family and base investigators still searching.
Replies
tom mitchell
Neighbor
7-05-2025 9:51am
where's neighbor john baake - to explain to us that contamination of natural resources really isn't that big a deal....and besides, it's a safe distance from where HE lives.
and my thanks to the professionals that fight the up-hill battle to keep out lands and water sources as free from toxic substances as possible.
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John Baake
Neighbor
7-05-2025 12:31pm
You must mean thank you to the professional lobbyists, because I'm not finding any professional scientist's or doctors involved in any of these decisions.
Unilateral actions like these with no scientific basis, or based on junk semi-science, like the Green New Scam, are going to end up forcing Congress into passing legislation prohibiting states from making any regulations on the environment.
12 of the 20 resolutions by congress this year have been reigning in environmental nonsense regulations.
While at the same time Trump and Congress have worked to actually protect the environment where Democrats have failed. Such as preventing the invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, providing more water to California while enabling salmon to still reach their spawn areas. And numerous other common sense environment initiatives.
These lawsuits against the AF are just the beginning. The NMED regulations are being phased in over the next 7 years, and will end up banning the sale in NM of anything containing PFAS. This means no fabric stain protectors, and no cardboard food containers among other things.
All brought to you by democrats with no scientific input of any kind.
tom mitchell
Neighbor
7-05-2025 4:51pm
of course not - dear leader/elon musk/and the doge boys have cleaned out anyone who had legitimate credentials....nothing left here but worshippers of the orange overlord.
John Baake
Neighbor
7-06-2025 10:55am
The EPA regulation took effect in April of 2024, every piece of info regarding it is still on the EPA website. There was no science listed, or even alluded to in regards to the regulation.
I should point out that one of the concerns that is still in the process of being investigated about PFAS, is that the body has problems getting it out of the system, much like mercury. The EPA drinking water standard for mercury is 1,000 times higher concentrations allowed than for PFAS.
It reminds me of a statement the EPA made back in the '90's "There is no known safe level of second hand smoke"
That was a true statement, because in order to establish a safe level, you must first establish a dangerous level, which to this day has never been done.
