Water woes engulf military bases

There are 679 bases in the United States with known or suspected PFAS contamination and according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) the Department of Defense has not fully briefed farmers about the likely pollution of surface and groundwater near some 36 of 126 military bases with the highest parts per trillion of PFAS contamination. 

Officials at Ellsworth Air Force Base say water wells in Box Elder have tested above the US Environmental Protection Agency health advisory level at 551,000 parts per trillion for two chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — compounds in foam used to fight petroleum-based fires at a site where pit fires are common. Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls is poisoned with over 255,000 parts per trillion and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota suffers 453,000 parts per trillion. 

In 2018 it was revealed PFAS have been spewing from Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, home of the plane that dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast or 'Mother of all Bombs' on Afghanistan. Art Schaap, an area dairy operator dumped milk and destroyed some of his herd because area wells were contaminated with "forever chemicals" like PFAS.

“We are getting stonewalled,” Schaap said Friday at a Clovis meeting of the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee, a bipartisan legislative committee made up of state representatives and senators. “The Air Force and Department of Defense seem to have a total disregard for our family and our community and our employees and business. This farm has been the blood-life for my family and for many hard-working employees that lived and worked on the farm.” The base spokesperson did say, however, that the base is taking PFAS seriously. It has spent $32 million to investigate the scope of the contamination and is studying what it will take to remediate the impact. [Cannon Air Force Base ducking public meetings about ‘forever chemical’ risk, neighbors say]

How will the Lewis and Clark water system boondoggle embolden the proponents of the pipeline to Rapid City since there are no Democrats to drive it? Will the military push Republicans to get on the socialist bandwagon? But a water pipeline from the Missouri River to Rapid City would cost almost $2 billion and rip up a few hundred miles of stolen treaty ground.

Problems at the Rapid City Water Metering Facility forced Ellsworth Air Force Base to put restrictions in place. The problem stems from what the base calls a catastrophic failure at the metering facility on Saturday, making the plant inoperable. The metering facility is the plant that supplies the base with its water. The 28th Bomb Wing responded to the situation by entering stage one of its water demand reduction plan, causing a complete stoppage of watering lawns, car washes, motor pool car washes, aircraft washing and swimming pool makeup water. [KNBN teevee]

With drought taking hold in the upper basin we should be sending thoughts and prayers in advance for the wretched masses that have poisoned their own wells and tapped into big gubmint to water lawns while they complain about Waters of the United States or WOTUS. 

Learn more at EWG.

Prof. @IanTCousins warns, "we're in a place now where you can't live anywhere on the planet, & be sure that the environment is safe." We can, however, continue to push legislation that safeguards our drinking water from #PFAS & ensures that #PollutersPay. https://t.co/qlm1481HuO

— MI Senate Dems (@MISenDems) August 14, 2022