Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham accused the Environmental Protection Agency of violating federal law by refusing to aid the state in a lawsuit with the Air Force.
The Democratic governor sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Friday saying the agency’s lack of involvement “is a demonstrative example of EPA’s failure to uphold compliance with federal environmental laws,” according to Politico.
The EPA stood by its decision on Tuesday, calling Lujan Grisham’s demands that the agency get involved a form of “short-term litigation posturing.” Two top EPA officials argued in July that the EPA is prohibited from taking or joining legal action against another executive department or agency.
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney disagreed with the EPA argument in an Aug. 2 letter, saying that the EPA has issued compliance orders to other federal agencies in the past.
New Mexico sued the Air Force on March 5 over a toxic chemical compound called PFAS that appeared in groundwater around Cannon and Holloman air bases. The compound is known as a “forever chemical” for its resistance to breaking down in the environment.
PFAS contamination has been found in and around dozens of military installations across the U.S. New Mexico has sued the Air Force to make the military clean up the toxic compound from the environment and is pressuring the EPA to help in the cleanup, as well.
The EPA has argued that it has already aided the state by sharing information and advising state officials.
