The New Mexico Environment Department has fined Cannon Air Force Base $98,780 and threatens to revoke the installation’s state operating permit over a 2024 spill of water tainted with toxic “forever chemicals.”
The state discovered in July more than 7,000 gallons of wastewater contaminated with PFAS from firefighting foam had leaked from a damaged retention pond. More than a dozen tears were found in the pond’s liner, according to the Environment Department. Aqueous film-forming foam, used in firefighting, is known to contain perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, substances known as “forever chemicals” because they are difficult to break down in the environment — and in the human body, where they are associated with several health conditions.
The Eastern New Mexico spill wasn’t reported to the Environment Department until August, the agency said, and only half of the fluid had been recovered by that time. Cannon’s permit requires reporting of an incident within 24 hours.
Environment Secretary James Kenney is fed up.
“The governor appointed me to be the secretary to implement the state’s laws and rules,” Kenney said in an interview. ” The Legislature has given me the authority to terminate, modify or revoke a permit. If I were not to go down this path in the situation we have, the Air Force being one of the biggest polluters, then I think I would be in dereliction of my own duties. So this is an escalation as a result of their dealings with the state of New Mexico.”
Leadership at the base is aware of the fine, Cannon spokesperson Jaclyn Pienkowski wrote in an email.
“As a military institution serving the community, we have a responsibility to protect and preserve our environment,” Pienkowski wrote. “Since discovering the release, Cannon has transparently communicated to the public and NMED regarding the incident, follow-on investigation, testing, and pending remedial action plan. Cannon AFB is committed to preventing future incidents from occurring and ensuring transparency of information regarding all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, inventory on base.”
The base, near Clovis, awarded an approximately $150,000 contract in October to sample soil under the pond for PFAS.
“Cannon AFB is committed to taking the appropriate and necessary action to protect our Airmen, their families, and our community partners,” U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Johnston, 27th Special Operations Wing and Cannon AFB commander, said in a statement in October. “We will continue to work expeditiously as we responsibly and appropriately respond to this release.”
It’s rare for the state agency to threaten a permit revocation or modification, Kenney said. The Environment Department is also requiring the base to take corrective actions and an accounting of all PFAS-contaminated wastewater.
In September, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center sent out a news release that said drinking water wells at and near the base weren’t expected to be impacted by the spill.
Kenney isn’t convinced by that assessment.
Six years ago, a plume of PFAS was found in groundwater southeast of the base. The contamination resulted in the euthanasia of thousands of dairy cows. The plume — and the state’s authority to require the U.S. Defense Department to clean it up — remains at the center of two lawsuits, the first filed by Defense Department against the New Mexico Environment Department and the latter filed by the state agency against Cannon.
The Environment Department has spent $12 million on litigation, including to hire a contractor to help characterize the plume and how it is moving.
The base has 30 days to either pay the fine or request a hearing and argue why its permit should not be modified, revoked or terminated. Missing that deadline can result in additional fines. It is uncertain whether the base will request a hearing.
“We’ll see how they explain this to us,” Kenney said.
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