Letter to the Honorable Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force - Address Cannon Air Force Base Water Contamination

Letter

Dear Secretary Wilson,

We have serious concerns with the contamination found in and around Cannon Air Force Base (AFB) and the Air Force's lack of leadership and immediate response to this situation. It is imperative that much more be done. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, specifically PFOA and PFOS, can cause significant health implications, including high cholesterol, increased liver enzymes, decreased vaccination response, thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, cancers, and reproductive and developmental complications.

We are disappointed in the Air Force's communication with the affected public. The notification letters provided to the owners of affected wells did not include specific health risk information. Instead the letter directed well owners to the EPA's website, not even providing a direct link to an appropriate page. We learned through previous inquiries that the Air Force will partner with the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) to host a town hall meeting to address community concerns regarding potential human health implications. We urge the Air Force to lead in organizing these efforts and do everything in its power to ensure residents clearly understand potential health risks.

In order to fully rectify this situation, it is essential for the Air Force to collaborate with New Mexico state agencies including NMED, New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), and the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). The Air Force has an obligation to be responsive, timely, and transparent with all New Mexico state agencies. We urge the Air Force to respond without delay to NMED's September 26, 2018 letter requesting additional corrective actions. Those actions included expanding testing to all wells within four miles of the southeast corner of Cannon AFB, future soil and water testing to include perfluorobutanoate (PFBA), resampling all on base wells in the timeframes provided, and continuing to provide alternative drinking water to all individuals with affected water supplies.

Please provide written responses to the following questions and requests:

What is the Air Force doing to ensure residents clearly understand potential health risks?
Please respond without delay to NMED's September 26, 2018 letter.
Please provide to NMED without delay all test findings of the 19 off base private wells tested between August 28 -- 30, 2018 and the 5 additional private wells tested September 24, 2018.
Please expedite the finalization of the Holloman AFB site inspection.
Please provide to NMED the results of all PFOA and PFOS testing of Kirtland AFB including the September 2017 site inspection report.
We appreciate your careful attention to this request, and please do not hesitate to call on our offices if we can be of assistance on this matter. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Source