New Mexico environment officials announced Friday that approximately 100 homes in Curry County will have a new water source to lessen their exposure to toxic PFAS in their drinking wells from nearby Cannon Air Force Base.
The state environment department said it will be awarding a $12 million state legislative appropriation for the project to EPCOR, which runs water and wastewater services in Eastern New Mexico, and is a major utilities provider in the U.S. and Canada. The company operates more than 41,000 connections in Clovis, according to the state’s drinking water website.
The move comes in response to the state’s PFAS blood testing initiative in the area that found that 99.7% of the 628 participants had PFOS — the form of PFAS (per and poly fluoroalkyl substances) widely used in military firefighting foam — in their blood. The state’s report also found New Mexicans working or living closer to the PFAS-contaminated groundwater plume under Cannon had PFAS levels that were three times higher than residents not working or living near the plume.
Studies on PFAS’ health impacts remain ongoing, but exposure has thus far been linked to kidney and reproductive cancers, decreased fertility, fetal developmental delays, disruption of immune responses and liver functions in people.
The project will extend EPCOR’s existing water system east of the base to include members of Curry County. The connections will be voluntary, requiring households to opt-in, according to a news release on the project. In a statement, state Environment Secretary James Kenney said that connecting to EPCOR’s water lines would be “the best way for Curry County residents to receive drinking water that meets or exceeds all state and federal standards.”
In a joint statement, Republican lawmakers from the Clovis and Broadview areas said they were “excited” to see movement on the $12 million project they set funds aside for in the 2025 legislative session.
“PFAS contamination has impacted the health and wellbeing of our families near Cannon Air Force Base and finding real solutions is critical,” Minority Whip Sen. Pat Woods, Sen. Pat Boone, Rep. Martin Zamora, and Rep. Andrea Reeb said in a joint statement.
New Mexico remains embroiled in several lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Defense over PFAS contamination, and is part of multi-state litigation in South Carolina.
The state is also involved in separate litigation in the federal court system, after the U.S. Department of Defense sued the state’s environment department, claiming New Mexico overstepped its authority in mandating cleanup.
In yet another case filed this year, state officials alleged Cannon Air Force illegally barred state inspectors entry to the base to test for PFAS, violating a new state law. A Department of Defense’s request to move that case forward in federal court remains on hold pending a ruling on whether the case should be incorporated into the multi-state litigation in South Carolina.
