On September 8, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission approved a settlement agreement between the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and Cannon Air Force Base for alleged violations of state environmental groundwater permitting laws. The agreement addresses an administrative compliance order issued by NMED earlier this year due to Cannon discharging without a groundwater permit and failing to provide NMED with required information about PFAS.
“Unfortunately, federal facilities in New Mexico have a history of disregarding state environmental laws,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “The integrity of every environmental regulatory scheme is rooted in compliance. U.S. Department of Defense facilities must comply with permitting requirements to protect our groundwater that New Mexicans rely on for drinking water and agriculture.”
The state remains in litigation with the U.S. Department of Defense over remedying the PFAS contamination at Cannon and Holloman Air Force Bases caused by decades of use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams.
