Curry commissioners uncertain about joining partnership

CLOVIS — Curry County commissioners expressed appreciation for a newfound clean water partnership in response to PFAS groundwater contamination near Cannon Air Force Base, but indicated Tuesday morning they weren’t sure it was wise or even legal for the county to join.

Commissioners spent much of their Tuesday meeting listening to a presentation by John Kern of the Clean Water Partnership — Cannon. Kern said the CWP is not affiliated with the base, but wants to “provide the leadership that helps develop a solid remediation plan ... rather than standing by.”

The commission took no action, as the presentation was an information item.

Cannon Air Force Base is one of numerous installations that has admitted to local groundwater contamination from its past use of firefighting foams that contained the “forever chemicals” of PFAS and PFOA.

Since the issue was raised in the second half of 2018, Kern said, three major events have taken place:

• Agricultural water is now considered in the Clean Water Act.

• The Department of Defense is required to adopt a 70 parts per trillion standard for water. “Up until this time,” Kern said, “the Department of Defense had repeatedly responded ... ‘We don’t have an EPA standard against which we can provide remediation.’ Now we do have a standard, and it’s embedded in law.”

• Each military facility in the nation is required to present a remediation plan by June, but Kern understands the COVID-19 pandemic may cause some delays on that requirement.

Kern had concerns nobody knew how far the contamination plume has reached because of limited testing. He addressed Clovis water supplier EPCOR having wells test positive for PFAS at small amounts (between 4 and 10 ppt), and presumed the contamination came from the base about six miles away.

In the Lubbock area that previously hosted Reese Air Force Base, Kern said there have been hundreds of tests and numerous water filters installed for landowners, and he’d like to see the state work with Cannon to do the same.

“What we’re trying to do,” Kern said, “is cooperate with them and find a compatible solution for the area which really responds to their legislative obligations rather than through a litigation model.”

Commissioners Robert Thornton and Chet Spear had numerous questions on the partnership.

Thornton asked what purification technologies would be used and the costs for addressing the matter. Kern said granular activated carbon and resin filtration systems are the likely method, but the installation costs are $1,000 per gallon per minute with annual operating costs around 10% of that. That means, Kern said, a landowner with a 4,000 gallon per minute capacity would require $4 million in filtration equipment.

In a followup, Thornton asked about operation and maintenance responsibility. He said private well owners have brought legal action against the DoD to those ends; EPCOR could do the same, but would likely have to handle the expense upfront through its rates.

Spear asked about compensation for the partnership staff. Kern said any compensation would be handled through a $28,000 line item for administrative budget.

Kern noted through questions Spear asked that he has done lobbying work on behalf of the four dairies closest to the plume, but that the partnership is not a means of doing litigation or any traditional legal work.

Spear, in concerns echoed by Commissioner Seth Martin, had concerns that if Curry joined at the $18,000 annual membership rate, it would violate the state antidonation clause because it doesn’t equally benefit all county residents. Kern noted the partnership could help provide for economic development, a legal exception to the clause.

Spear said he appreciated what the partnership was trying to do, “but it’s a problem caused by the military, and it’s the DOD’s responsibility to clean it up with money that’s been appropriated.”

In other business at the Tuesday meeting:

• Information Technology Director Todd Ulses had a quick budget hearing, with a request for $11,000 to go toward a department intern. Ulses said the amount was based on 20 hours of work per week, but the intern’s class schedule would dictate the available hours. Ulses said he had nobody identified for the position, and would look at Eastern New Mexico University and Clovis Community College.

County Manager Lance Pyle said he was still projecting revenues for the upcoming fiscal year, and couldn’t answer questions about general fund capacity for the additional expense.

• Kadee Hande, director of the county fairgrounds and events center, said year to date the department is $23,015 under budget. With no events held since mid-March due to mass gathering restrictions, Hande said $37,000 in expenses have been cut

Commissioner Robert Sandoval asked if the county was stuck in any contracts if canceling the county fair becomes necessary during the pandemic.

“With every bit of news I hear,” Sandoval said, “I’m less and less convinced we’re going to have a county fair.” He said simply not talking about cancellation wouldn’t make it less possible.

Hande said the contracts the county does have are largely for concerts, and those contracts have clauses for force majeure — eliminating obligation should reasons outside of a party’s control force event cancellation.

• Pyle reported the county received a $7,000 wildfire risk reduction grant, which would go toward education, a billboard and advertising.

• Pyle said every county office was staffed, but social distancing was still in place and all in-person options were closed with the exception of early voting at the clerk’s office.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 19, tentatively at the Curry County Administrative Complex.