By Associated Press - Tuesday, February 11, 2020

CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) - Clovis’ public water utility has decommissioned some drinking water wells after finding traces of a cancer-causing pollutant.

According to the New Mexico Environment Department, the company in charge of Clovis’ public drinking water found a known carcinogen in 10 of its 82 wells at the entry point where the water would be piped to households.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has no drinking water limit for PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals. But the agency has an established a lifetime health advisory level for two chemicals in the PFAS group - PFOA and PFOS - at 70 parts per trillion, which means there may be adverse effects if PFAS is ingested above this threshold for many years.

The letter from the EPCOR company to residents said “there is no health concern, but we’ve taken extra steps just to be on the safe side.”

“None of the sample results came close to the EPA’s health-based recommended advisory level, and none of the water EPCOR supplies to you comes from the area surrounding the Cannon plume reported in October 2018,” the letter added.

Authorities believe the substances may have leaked into groundwater supplies from nearby Cannon Air Force Base. For decades, the man-made chemicals were used in firefighting foam for training exercises on the nation’s military bases.

The discovery of PFAS in Clovis’ treated water comes a month after the state Environment Department fined the U.S. Air Force almost $1.7 million for failing to monitor the contaminants discharged at Cannon and for letting its wastewater permit expire.

The state Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the Air Force last year after groundwater samples indicated chemical levels were hundreds of times higher than the federal health advisory limit. PFAS pollution near Clovis has contaminated at least one dairy farm.

A call to Cannon seeking comment on the Clovis situation wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday. Air Force officials have said previously that they don’t comment on lawsuits in which the base is involved.

The state Environment Department is seeking $1.2 million from the Legislature to map the contamination and develop cleanup strategies.

State Sens. Pat Woods and Stuart Ingle have introduced a bill that would allocate $700,000 to the agency to conduct water well testing in communities affected by the military’s PFAS contamination in Curry and Roosevelt counties.

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