- New Mexico and the U.S. Air Force reached a verbal PFAS cleanup agreement.
- The contamination plume near Cannon Air Force Base stretches about four miles.
- Dairy farmers have agreed to allow testing and remediation on private land.
- The Air Force says it has spent $74 million on treatment efforts since 2015.
- State and federal officials described the talks as a major improvement in relations.
Thursday, May 14, 2026 — New Mexico environment officials and the U.S. Air Force have reached a verbal agreement to expand cleanup efforts for PFAS contamination around Cannon Air Force Base after years of legal disputes and tension between the two sides. The pollution, linked to firefighting foam chemicals that can persist in water and soil, was first identified in 2015 and has spread into private wells in Curry County. State officials said the breakthrough came after local dairy farmers agreed to allow testing and possible treatment work on their land, something the Air Force had struggled to secure in the past. The contamination has had serious impacts on agriculture in the area, including the dumping of contaminated milk and the euthanizing of thousands of dairy cows in 2022. Officials from both the state and the Air Force described the agreement as a positive step toward restoring cooperation while broader litigation over hazardous waste authority continues in federal court.
Details were published in Source New Mexico
and republished below under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
NM environment officials, U.S. Air Force agree to PFAS cleanup plan around Cannon
by Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
May 13, 2026
Top U.S. Air Force and New Mexico environment officials this week announced a verbal agreement to expedite clean up of toxic chemicals in Curry County aquifers surrounding Cannon Air Force base.
The contamination was first discovered in 2015, when the state identified what is now a 4-mile-long plume of firefighting foams containing per-and-polyflouroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. These manmade chemicals resist breaking down and can accumulate in water, soils and the bodies of humans and animals around the world — including in Clovis. Since then, the U.S. Air Force says it has spent $74 million treating the contamination.
Due to the spread of the PFAS plume into private wells, Highland Dairy, with help from the state, dumped thousands of gallons of PFAS-contaminated milk and euthanized 3,600 dairy cows in 2022.
In March, state environment officials struck a deal with four Curry County dairy farmers to test and possibly treat their private wells for PFAS contamination, which State Environment Secretary James Kenney told Source NM was the “catalyst” that created the opening for a meeting with U.S. Air Force top brass.
“Dairy farmers surrounding the base have agreed to allow the state access to their property for the characterization and remediation of the plume, which the Air Force has not been able to achieve or attain with the landowners to this point,” Kenney said.
The agreement came as the result of a May 8 meeting in Washington, D.C. brokered by New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales — who chairs the state’s military base planning commission — Department of the Air Force Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Michael Borders Jr. and Kenney.
In a statement, Morales said his priority is to “sustain strong partnerships” with military installation and communities.
“This verbal agreement not only supports that mission, but ensures New Mexican farmers can live, work, and support their families in Curry County for generations to come,” Morales said.
Borders said in a statement the agreement “marks an important step in advancing PFAS response efforts and strengthening our partnership with the communities surrounding Cannon Air Force Base.”
The state remains in litigation with the U.S. Air Force in Denver federal appeals court over New Mexico’s authority to require the federal government follow state hazardous waste laws.
Kenney told Source NM the verbal agreement offers “optimism after eight years of pessimism” in the state’s relationship with the Pentagon.
“We have gained a little bit more certainty on what the future looks like for Curry County, and on what the future looks like for Cannon Air Force Base,” Kenney said. “While we’re still in litigation, it does feel remarkably more positive to have an agreement like this.”
Kenney said he plans to head back to Washington D.C. next week to get the verbal agreement in writing.
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Image via Source New Mexico: New Mexico and U.S. Air Force officials on May 12, 2026, announced a verbal agreement to jointly clean up PFAS contamination from firefighting foams used on base seeping into aquifers off-base. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Alex Mercer)
