US air force avoids PFAS water cleanup, citing supreme court's Chevron ruling

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https://www.arlnow.com/2024/08/14/debrief-8142024/#comment-6527873812

Air Force Bucks EPA Order to Clean Up 'Forever Chemicals' in Arizona, Citing Supreme Court Ruling



A cup full of single-use, ion-exchange, gel-based media sits atop valves that control a ground water remediation system being used to remediate polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater at the fire training area of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees)

Military.com | By Thomas Novelly
Published August 13, 2024 at 5:40pm ET

Air Force lawyers are fighting an emergency order from the Environmental Protection Agency requiring the service to clean contaminated drinking water in Arizona, pointing to a recent Supreme Court ruling that restricts regulatory agencies as a justification to dodge the mandate. … In a letter last month, lawyers for the Air Force argued that a landmark June decision by the court in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo -- which reduced regulatory agencies' power by pushing authority to the courts to interpret ambiguous laws, referred to as "Chevron deference" -- makes the EPA's order asking the service to clean contaminated water from the Tucson International Airport moot.

"In this respect, the Supreme Court's recent decision ... makes clear that EPA's interpretation of these statutory terms is not entitled to deference," lawyers for the Air Force wrote, citing the recent ruling. "The EPA will not have the benefit of any 'Chevron deference' in any such proceeding." … In the 1980s, a 10-square-mile area around the Tucson International Airport and military facilities was designated as a Superfund site by the EPA. Groundwater was contaminated by "former aircraft and electronics manufacturing and aircraft maintenance," "fire drill trainings" and "leaking of chemicals from unlined landfills" from Air Force Plant 44 and Morris Air National Guard Base, according to the agency's website.

Joshua Alexander, a press officer for the EPA who provided the letter to Military.com, said Monday that trichloroethylene and 1,4-Dioxane have been detected in the past and, more recently, concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" because they do not break down in the environment and build up in the body -- have been detected in the environment and groundwater. … Potential adverse health effects from PFAS include kidney and testicular cancer, increased cholesterol levels and changes in liver enzymes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"EPA is in the process of reviewing that correspondence and developing a response," Alexander said, referring to the Air Force’s response to the agency’s order. "EPA will continue to carry out its oversight role and use its authority to protect public health." … The EPA issued an order May 26 to the Air Force and Air National Guard citing the Safe Drinking Water Act, and asked the service to come up with a water treatment plan for PFAS within 60 days of that notice. … That May order referenced that the underground source of drinking water had PFAS in concentrations as high as 53,000 parts per trillion. The EPA standards list anywhere from 4 to 10 parts per trillion as acceptable.

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