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Curry hears presentation on chemical contamination

CLOVIS — In a special meeting Tuesday afternoon, Curry County Commissioners heard work is progressing slowly on addressing “forever chemical” contamination at and around Cannon Air Force Base first disclosed two years ago.

The commission heard a presentation from Todd Ringler of Rep. Ben Ray Lujan’s office. There was no action associated with the update that took place in the virtual meeting that spanned about 90 minutes.

Ringler gave a quick rundown of the last two years of work, which began in August 2018 when the Department of Defense released findings of groundwater contamination around Cannon Air Force Base.

The Department of Defense and the Air Force are dealing with the chemicals at installations throughout the country. There was no action associated with the update.

Hundreds of military bases around the country have been impacted in some way by contamination of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are active ingredients in firefighting foams. The chemicals do not easily break down, which makes them effective in firefighting and undesirable in water supplies.

Ringler believes Cannon is the only base where nearby agriculture has been impacted. He said the Department of Defense has not tested any water in the location of the Cannon plume since the fall of 2018, but there is money from the state to do such testing.

“I think COVID has gotten in the way of them rolling out that program,” Ringler said, “but $100,000 is set aside.”

The plume has many effects, Ringler said. Public health is the clear first priority, but he noted an economic impact that was devastating to the affected dairy owner and cascading effects to other businesses and the county’s property tax collection.

The last town hall on the matter was held in November 2018, and Ringler said discussions with dairies hasn’t taken place since March of last year.

Ringler said Lujan has had discussions with Air Force leadership, which has agreed on the need for greater community engagement. He said the congressman’s office stands ready when those opportunities present themselves.

When asked if communication was stalled because the DoD is involved in lawsuits from the state and Curry County on the matter, Ringler responded the lawsuits aren’t blanket restriction on any community engagement.

“These are big, complicated cleanups and there are a lot of disputes that may happen,” Ringler said. “While a lawsuit might preclude the Air Force from talking about certain aspects or dimensions of the problem it doesn’t preclude them from engaging, especially on any aspects that are outside of the lawsuit.”

Commissioner Chet Spear asked if the DoD might be required to clean 10 EPCOR wells where contamination was discovered. Leadership for EPCOR has not identified a source for the contamination, and Mark Huerta of the company said during a Tuesday Clovis water policy committee meeting the contamination may be due to multiple sources.

“When this first came to light,” Ringler said, “the dairy that was most impacted was within eyesight of the training facility where for four decades the Air Force had been using PFAS aqueous foam. There was really no question about who was responsible for the contamination. Given this subsequent contamination is a little bit more removed from the base, this is somewhat up in the air.”

Ringler noted that in communications with the DoD, Lujan’s office has reiterated that the sooner cleanup efforts begin, the lower costs will be in actions and public health consequences.

With that in mind, Spear asked why New Mexico or its environment department didn’t just simply begin the cleanup as soon as the plume was known and tack costs onto its lawsuit. Ringler said that would be a question for those agencies, but did note that private dairy operators purchased filtration equipment on their own and have so far been denied DoD reimbursement.

Commissioner Seth Martin said he appreciated the presentation, and thanked Lujan’s office for staying in contact with affected ag producers.

Sandoval said he shared the commission’s frustrations, but was optimistic things will move with the Department of Defense bearing the legal authority and the responsibility for the cleanup.

“The wheels are grinding very slowly,” Sandoval said, “but at least they’re grinding.”

Representatives from the New York-based Napoli Shkolnik law firm, which is handling the county’s lawsuit, participated in the virtual meeting but had no additional comments.

In other business at the Tuesday meeting:

• The commission accepted nearly $480,000 in CARES Act funding from the state in two separate motions — $322,163 for small business grants and $157,717 for expenses including housing and childcare.

Pyle said the county will communicate with the city of Clovis to make sure there is no duplication of applicants.

Pyle said information on the grants will be posted on the county website and social media pages, and information will be provided to all of the county’s city halls. Pyle advised potential applicants to start compiling receipts for the application process.

• Based on a recommendation from County Finance Director Carol Pipes, the commission declined to act on deferring payroll tax obligations for the final four months of 2020 as authorized by the federal government.

Pipes said the move could create difficult situations with employees when it comes time to repay the 6.2% in deferred taxes, whether it comes in a 12.4% withholding in the following four months or immediate repayment should the employee leave the county.

Commissioner Robert Thornton called back to a recent vote he made against participation in an employee loan program with paycheck garnishments, noting, “Any time you start messing with people’s paychecks, you’re asking for trouble.”

• The commission approved modified property tax rates provided by the state.

Assessor Candace Morrison said the tax rate changes were minimal, and the lowest she recalls seeing in years. In response to a question about protests, Morrison said she’d received one and it wouldn’t have much impact on the county either way.

• In his report, County Manager Lance Pyle reported on the county’s virtual Community Development Block Grant presentation. A total of 22 cities and counties submitted applications, and the county is seeking a chip seal for Curry Road 11. Pyle was encouraged by the fact Curry was the only entity that received no followup questions from the council, and he is optimistic for an award on Thursday.

“I think it showed we had a very good application,” Pyle said. “I think we presented for two minutes, and they were on to the next one.”

• The next commission meeting will be held 9 a.m. Tuesday in virtual format.

 
 
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