This week, Aaron Hedge flew solo and revisited two of his articles on the “forever chemicals” contamination on the West Plains.

You can read the articles – which were originally published in 2024 – at the links below:

Airport CEO: Lawmakers should ‘wait and see’ before banning toxic PFAS

Community demands solutions as Fairchild reckons with new PFAS contamination rule

Hey, it's Aaron.

2

This week on the pod, we revisit

two of our bigger investigations

3

into the forever chemicals

contamination on the West Plains.

4

In the context of two big

developments that dropped this

5

week regarding that story.

6

Listen in.

7

We're focusing on two big developments

in the saga of forever chemicals

8

contamination on the West plains.

9

First, the Spokane County PFAS Task

Force, an advisory board comprised of

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local government officials and people

whose drinking water wells contain

11

per and polyflor alcohol substances.

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Held its first meeting near Medical Lake.

13

It prioritized which homes

should get filters that keep the

14

chemicals out of drinking water.

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The chemicals got into the West

Plains aquifers through firefighting

16

drills conducted by Fairchild Air

Force Base and Spokane International

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Airport using firefighting compounds

that contained the chemicals.

18

Which brings us to the

other thing that happened.

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The State Department of Ecology

identified two new liable parties in

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the contamination caused by SIA, the

city of Spokane and Spokane County.

21

Those two governments jointly owned the

airport, and the airport's governing board

22

knew when airport officials discovered

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But the board members chose not to

disclose that contamination to the public.

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Until now, the airport was

financially responsible for the

25

expensive and years long cleanup

process mandated by state law.

26

Ecology's decision may result in financial

liability for the city and the county.

27

Jeremy Schmidt, who it manages the

cleanup site for ecology, told me

28

that it's up to the three entities

to work out among themselves.

29

In any case, it comes as a relief.

30

John Hancock is the founder of the West

Plains Water Coalition, which has been

31

advocating for PFAS solutions since 2022.

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I caught up with him after

the task force meeting.

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The secrecy among these interconnected

agencies that is Airport, county, and

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the city seems to have been legal, but

it really pushed the boundaries of.

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Confidentiality, conflict of interest,

executive session, and all those ways

36

of avoiding talking about the issue.

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, So it's like we're onto the next phase

now of ecology, finding out, what really

38

happened and naming the failures of

stewardship that I think allowed the

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problem to be unknown for so long.

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Meanwhile, people in the neighborhood

were drinking bad water unbeknownst.

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So, Ecology's focus on

the science of PFAS.

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That is how much is

where did it come from?

43

Where's it going?

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Avoids all the historical finger

pointing among everybody else and

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just focuses right on the solution.

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What do we do about it?

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And so it's really encouraging

step to, push the whole process of

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knowing and solving forward together.

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With these developments in mind,

we're bringing you two range stories

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separated into two acts that explain

part of how the story developed.

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Here they are, act one.

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Our first story published

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Details how former S-I-A-C-E-O, Larry

Crowder and Commissioner Al French

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lobbied governments to allow the airport

to continue using firefighting foam with

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PFAS as its active ingredient is titled.

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Airport, CEO says lawmakers should

wait and see before banning toxic PFAS.

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For Spokane International Airport,

CEO, Larry Crowder, there is no more

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important real estate in the world

than the land around the airport's.

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Tarmax on the west Plains, which he

is doggedly developing into a revenue

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generating economy, growing powerhouse

that more than anything else, draws

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economic activity to Spokane, increasing

the capacity of the local skies.

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And the goal is more air

traffic, always more.

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Crowder is set up well for this, as

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Spokane County TV with Al French, the

county's longest serving commissioner.

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What might surprise people, Crowder said

of SIA is that it's 6,400 acres in size.

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We've planned it well in order

to have plenty of room to

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expand well into the future.

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Are there limits to the airport's

development from an airfield perspective?

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No.

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Crowder told the spokesman in 2018.

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We have enough land to

support a parallel runway.

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The only constraints parking and

security would benefit from federal

73

investment in increased capacity.

74

That's why the expansion of Sias

Terminal Sea then only conceptual, but

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now nearing completion is the largest

expansion in the airport's history and

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one of the tallest feathers in crowder's,

well decorated cap on the ground.

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Things are good at SIA.

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But what Crowder didn't mention in any

interview was something that for six years

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has also been an object of his focus.

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The poison lurking beneath the surface.

81

From 2017 when it first tested its well

for so-called forever chemicals until

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August, 2023 SIA talked publicly only

once in comments that got no traction in

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the news and may not have even reached

the reporter it sent them to about the

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toxic chemical compounds it put into

West Plains Groundwater as a result

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of federally required firefighting

drills using aqueous film forming foam.

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AFS are the best known weapon for

fighting petroleum-based fires, but the

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foam's active ingredients were several

kinds of manmade compounds known as per

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and polyflor alcohol substances or PFS,

which have been linked to cancer, birth

89

defects, liver and kidney problems,

and exist in many household products.

90

After a regulatory change by the

Washington Department of Ecology

91

in 2021, requiring the disclosure

of PFAS contamination, Crowder and

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SIA didn't disclose the west plains

contamination even to ecology itself.

93

DOE only learned about the airports

contamination after a private

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citizen requested the records

and sent them to the agency.

95

And while Crowder and his colleagues

weren't disclosing the contamination

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to the public, they also weren't

ignoring forever chemicals.

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In fact, PFAS was a top

priority for airport officials.

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They were actively lobbying

to keep using them.

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Internal emails obtained by range through

a public records request showed that

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in 2020 SIA concentrated its efforts

on keeping the state of Washington from

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regulating the chemicals at airports.

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Airport officials sent letters threatening

legal action to the legislature, which

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was considering legislation that would

ban PFAS in a FF at airports, and

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in 2020 even flew to Washington DC

in parts to meet with the FA a's top

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lawyer about that proposed legislation.

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Crowder and SIA spokesperson,

Todd Woodard did not respond

107

to a request for an interview.

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Amid drinking water crisis

Fairchild volunteers as tribute as

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SIA, tried to stop the PFAS ban.

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People suffered.

111

West Plains residents who did not

know of CIA's contamination, had

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been concerned with severe sometimes

deadly liver and kidney problems

113

and cancer cases that seemed to be

surfacing with alarming frequency.

114

People were dying.

115

It's important to note that public

health agencies have not identified a

116

cancer cluster on the West plains, and

some data suggests there isn't one.

117

Kara Costan, a spokesperson for the

Washington Department of Health said the

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agency investigated kidney and pancreatic

cancer rates on the west plains and

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could not identify a cancer cluster.

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Age adjusted rates of all cancer types

combined with and pancreatic cancer

121

were significantly lower in the West

Plain study area compared to Spokane

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County and Washington State as a whole.

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While age adjusted rates of

kidney cancer were not found to be

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significantly different within the

study area compared to Spokane County

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and Washington State as a whole.

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Stanek wrote in response

to questions from range.

127

But that doesn't jive with what

activists on the ground in the

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West Plains have documented in

speaking with their neighbors.

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West Plain's Water Coalition founder

John Hancock, who spent much of last

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year trying to produce better data about

the contamination, says public officials

131

have not looked where people diagnosed

with cancer are getting their water.

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Crucial information to determine

if there is a cancer cluster.

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In the United States, the baseline

rate of pancreatic cancer hovers

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around seven cases per 100,000

people in our work together.

135

Hancock said in an email to range

referencing the W PWCs organizing

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with fewer than 1000 people.

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We have names of at least five neighbors

who died of pancreatic cancer, all of

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whom drank contaminated well water.

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If those numbers are correct,

pancreatic cancer is over 70 times

140

more common on the west plains

than the rest of the United States.

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Pancreatic cancer kills 90 to

95% of people diagnosed with the

142

disease within five years, and

is known to be caused by PFAS.

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Fairchild Airport space knew it had

caused similar contamination from

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firefighting drills, identical to

those that had occurred at SIA.

145

In contrast to SIA, Fairchild told the

Spokane Regional Health District about

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the potential health hazard in 2017

and published information about the

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contamination enabling the City of Airway

Heights to buy clean municipal water

148

from Spokane, which it does to this day.

149

Fairchild established its own modest

water program delivering bottled

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water, or installing expensive, but

frequently malfunctioning carbon

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filters for some private well owners

who don't benefit from the arrangement

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between airway heights and Spokane.

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Despite learning of their contamination.

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At approximately the same time, crowder

and officials from SIA quietly allowed

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Fairchild to bear the public burden

of PFAS contamination on its own.

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The airport was growing and for now

it had dodged any fallout for its own

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pollution, almost telling on themselves.

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Just months after.

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Well, samples taken from the SIA campus

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levels of cancer causing chemicals.

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Crowder sent the airport board an

email claiming SIA had divulged

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the test results to REM two news

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We sampled four existing monitoring

wells on airport property.

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Crowder said that the airport wrote

to Ward in November of that year.

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The chemicals according to Crowder's

email were detected at levels in

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three of the four wells at higher

than the established screening levels.

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It's unclear from Crowder's email when

these comments, which appear to have

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been copied and pasted from the email

to the board, omitting any email change.

169

Had been sent to Ward who had sent them

or how they had been sent, but after

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a range forwarded her the message Ward

said her lead investigative producer

171

searched their email histories.

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Neither account Ward

said, yielded the message.

173

She said it was possible that the

remarks went to a lower level producer

174

who worked on that story at the time,

and they were lost in the news shuffle.

175

In any case.

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Ward said she never heard directly from

Crowder or Woodard about the test results.

177

These were the first and only

publicly facing comments made

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by anyone at the airport on the

PFAS situation until last August.

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I did not personally know about

contamination in the groundwater at

180

the airport until last month or so Ward

said in an email to range this month.

181

In fact, when I heard about it last

month, I remember saying, what.

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No choice but to sue in the mid 2000

several prominent lawsuits over the

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toxicity of PFAS, which chemical

manufacturers understood through their

184

internal research, but for decades,

hid from regulators were prompting

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bans on some PFAS products, including

in Washington, which barred the

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use of a FF in firefighting drills.

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But the state continued to allow a FF at

three kinds of places, oil refineries,

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manufacturing plants that make flammable

liquids and airports like SIA, where

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the federal government required

AF use in the firefighting drills.

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In December, 2019, representative

Beth Delio, a democrat of Olympia

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sponsored legislation to eliminate

those exemptions by requiring airports

192

in the state to stop using a FF.

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One month later, Crowder told the House of

Representatives that the airport industry

194

could sue it if it passed Dole's proposal.

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Banning a Triple F with PF Os at

airports would set a negative public

196

policy precedent on the part of the

state of Washington to improperly

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and unlawfully insert itself into

areas of airport operations that

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are regulated by federal law.

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Crowder wrote in a January 17th,

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Environment and Energy Committee.

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He said the traveling public would

be harmed by the inherent conflict

202

between banning a love use at

airports when the FAA requires it.

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Accordingly, if this legislation is

enacted into law then airports would have

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no choice but to challenge its validity.

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In federal court Crowder wrote.

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Do.

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Leo had worked to regulate the

chemical industry for decades.

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First, as an activist mother to an

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the state to regulate toxic chemicals

used in many plastics that were

210

appearing in women's breast milk.

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Now as chair of the Washington

House Environment and Energy

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Committee do, Leo told Range.

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She was taken aback.

214

By Crowder's opposition to a bill that

had the support of firefighters who

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were one of the main constituencies

lobbying to ban AF with PFAS because

216

they work so closely with it.

217

Dolia was not the committee chair

when Crowder sent his letter.

218

There was such clear bipartisan

support for the move away from

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PFAS and firefighting foam

at airport still, Leo said.

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And I think firefighters in particular

were like, this is our livelihood.

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We are the ones who are

on the front lines here.

222

To have this kind of opposition just flies

in the face of all the research and all

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the data and everything that we know.

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I guess the economic incentives

of continuing to use PFAS

225

outweighed the public safety angle.

226

After he sent the opposition

letter, Crowder immediately

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forwarded it to the entire airport

board with a note that read.

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In part, I think the bottom line is that

state legislators need to take a wait and

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see approach before proposing any laws

related to airports regarding this matter.

230

He's known and respected.

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If Crowder had concerns about

the health implications of PFAS,

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he didn't express them publicly.

233

Perhaps that's because focusing on

the economic role of the airport has

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served Crowder well in an industry

that prizes large development projects.

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He does it partly through a public

development authority called S3 R

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three solutions, S3 R three Marshals,

the resources of public and private

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service providers to recruit new

and existing businesses into the

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West Plains Airport area, and drives

economic prosperity through the creation

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of jobs according to its website.

240

Crowder and French, the latter.

241

A powerful man in many realms

of Inland Northwest politics.

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Our vice chair and chair respectively of

S3 R three people hire up the industry

243

ladder, have noticed Crowder's work.

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In 2017, he was named the Airport Director

of the Year by Airport Revenue News,

245

a magazine about the airport business.

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The City of Spokane's website ran a

story about Crowder's Accolade, quoting

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the magazine's publisher, Ramon Lowe.

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After speaking to many aviation executives

about a worthy candidate, the name of

249

Larry Crowder was consistently raised.

250

Larry is highly respected within

the aviation world with his efforts

251

in advocating for the aviation

industry in Washington, dc.

252

Additionally, he has created

air service at GE DIA's

253

Identification, location identifier.

254

And expects to soon undertake the

redevelopment and expansion of GEG.

255

The love kept flowing for Crowder

256

of Airport Executives, the largest

advocacy group for crowder's

257

profession in the world named Crowder.

258

For a one year term, a post French

bragged was the top of the ladder When

259

he interviewed Crowder this spring,

Crowder received another prize, AAA's

260

Award for distinguished service.

261

Crowder is famous across the state

as a vocal airport booster, having

262

testified on the need to beef

up air travel infrastructure and

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written and oral comments before

the state and federal legislatures.

264

He's an extraordinarily

well-respected leader out there.

265

Bruce Beckett, a lobbyist who

has represented airports at the

266

Washington legislature told range.

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He's known and respected, and Crowder

has helped win other legislative

268

disputes for the airport industry,

including testifying in the Washington

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Senate against a ban on the use of

leaded gasoline at airports that was

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passed this year by the Washington

House, but later killed in the Senate

271

runaway plane.

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Crowder's diligence on airport business

helps explain a theme and documents

273

range reviewed for this story.

274

He believes Washington State has

no place regulating any airport

275

activity that federal law touches.

276

In September, 2020, he sent the airport

board an email criticizing Governor

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j Endsley's proclamation requiring

airports in Washington to comply

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with state public health requirements

designed to blunt the COVID-19 pandemic.

279

He likened those public health

requirements to Delia's proposed PFAS law.

280

We have witnessed behavior by

the governor and legislature to

281

substitute themselves to the federal

government on a more frequent basis.

282

The most significant example being

the PFAS legislation passed this

283

year that is preempted by the FAA

Reauthorization Act Crowder wrote.

284

I'm troubled by this trend and I think

it will create even greater problems for

285

us in terms of clouding the regulatory

environment and potentially leading.

286

To difficulties maintaining compliance

with our FAA operating certificate.

287

His legal logic in opposing the AF

ban seemed simple enough because

288

the federal government required the

use of AF at federally regulated

289

airports, that requirement would make

it impossible to follow any state

290

regulation banning the substance.

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This mirrored the sentiment of the rest

of the airport industry in Washington.

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Beckett said.

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At the time the legislation was in the

house, Beckett represented the Port of

294

Moses Lake, which operates and develops

the Grant County International Airport.

295

That airport was also required by the

FAA to stock A FF with PFAS in it.

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Beckett told Range, the Washington

Airport Management Association and airport

297

lobbyists, including Beckett, had the same

concerns as Crowder about the bill and

298

worked closely with Dolia to remedy them.

299

So what representative do.

300

Did instead of her original Bill Beckett

said, is to say, once the FAA has tested

301

and approved an alternative product that

does not contain PFAS, then airports

302

have a two year period in which to

one gets supply and two, convert your

303

equipment over to use that material.

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And if it's not available, there's

a process for a third year.

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The result, the new PFAS law

grew less stringent than an

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outright and immediate ban.

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With the workaround to address

the conflict between state and

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federal regulations now in place.

309

The house overwhelmingly passed

310

Spokane Democrats, Tim Ornsby and

Marcus Elli and Spokane County

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Republican, Mike Bowles, joined 92

other bipartisan lawmakers in voting.

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Yes, former Spokane Valley

representative Matt Shea, one

313

of four legislators to vote no.

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All Republicans.

315

After the bill was changed, Beckett

said the Port of Moses Lake shifted its

316

stance on the legislation from opposed

to neutral because most airports remained

317

troubled by the cost implications

and the uncertainty of supply of

318

any alternative foam approved by the

F-A-A-S-I-A was expressly unsatisfied

319

after the bill was amended according

to a second distress signal, Woodard

320

sent to FAA Chief Counsel Arjun Gar.

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SIA spokesperson, Woodard wrote to

Garg on February 17th, the day after

322

the bill cleared the house that the

airport was now shifting its focus

323

to the Senate, which was preparing

to vote on its version of the bill.

324

We are very concerned

regarding the conflicted nature

325

the proposed legislation would place

us in between complying this with

326

state and federal law simultaneously.

327

Woodard's email to Garg Red.

328

Two weeks later, Crowder Woodard and

French traveled to Washington DC in part

329

to meet with Garg about the legislation.

330

They would be in town that week

for congressional meetings and

331

to attend an aviation legislative

conference where wrote to guard.

332

Gar confirmed a half hour slice of time on

333

airport officials could visit his office.

334

Crowder, Woodard, Garg and French did

not return requests for comments about

335

that meeting on the day of SIA officials

meeting with Garg that Washington Senate

336

passed its version of the bill 36 to 12

Spokane Democrat, Andy Billig voted yes,

337

Inslee signed it into law on March 18th.

338

Washington airports will eventually

have to clean the tanks and

339

firefighting equipment to prepare

for new PFAS free firefighting foam.

340

Beckett said this will be a big task.

341

It's more complicated than

just buying new chemical foam.

342

He said The tanks, the trucks, the pumps

all need to be intensively cleaned and

343

it's extraordinarily expensive to do that.

344

We're talking 30,000 to $40,000 per tank.

345

It's not just changing

the dishwasher's soap.

346

Circling the wagons for three

years after they met with Garg.

347

SIA officials remained quiet about

the contamination it had caused even

348

after the State Department of Ecology

classified PFAS as hazardous substances

349

requiring people and organizations

to report known spills of the Forever

350

Chemicals beginning in 2021, explicitly

including past releases like the

351

contamination at SIA and Fairchild.

352

Fairchild had already

disclosed this contamination.

353

Crowder and SIA chose not

to disclose their own.

354

And while Crowder did not return

a request for comment reviews

355

documents reviewed by range show,

he was concerned about the fallout.

356

Once the public was made aware in

357

records request for documents

showing the well test results.

358

Crowder was so concerned about the

request that he included it as a

359

discussion item on the agendas for two

360

The agenda item for the second meeting

on June 1st concerned the airport's

361

ground game as it braced for the public

to react to the documents it read.

362

Strategic Communications plan

following release of PFAS documents

363

in response to public records request.

364

Whatever came of that plan, the

airport has been forced to speak up,

365

at least in writing since DOE deemed

it liable for the cleanup last summer.

366

CIA's few statements have sought to

shift blame, downplayed the severity of

367

the crisis, and avoided any in-person

engagements with the affected public.

368

The first communication was

369

Letter to DOE, written by DC

lawyer, Jeffrey Longworth.

370

Who is representing SIA, Longworth accused

the Department of lacking evidence to

371

say the airport was responsible for the

contamination, even though the agency

372

was using CIA's own documents to do so.

373

Longworth asked DOE to

retract its accusation.

374

Unnecessary and unfounded negative

actions against the airport can damage

375

its reputation and community role as

well as harm the airport economically.

376

He wrote.

377

Ecology's investigation and arbitrary

conclusions and public statements

378

also have negative impacts that

could have been avoided and should

379

be avoided from this point forward.

380

DOE reaffirmed his position in a further

August 17th letter, forcing the airport

381

to begin an environmental cleanup under

Washington's Model, toxics Control Act.

382

Writing in response to questions

from the Seattle Times.

383

Woodard emphasized that for at least

some of the six years, the airport

384

kept quiet about its well tests.

385

It was not legally

required to report them.

386

In 2017, the Department of Ecology

had not yet formulated mandatory

387

reporting requirements for PFAS.

388

He wrote there was no requirement

389

The Times did not print any statement

from Woodard addressing the requirement

390

that bound the airport beginning

391

WPWC, founder Hancock, whose group is

building data sets and maps that will tell

392

private well owners whether they should

worry about PFAS invited the airport

393

to present at one of the coalition's.

394

Public meetings declined saying

the airport needed to be further

395

along in the cleanup process

before it could address the public.

396

The sources and impacts of PFAS

are a challenging and complex issue

397

and part of an evolving national

conversation given their reach

398

and scope where to rot to Hancock.

399

We are in the early stages of working

with the Department of Ecology, the FAA

400

and other state and federal agencies and

experts to more completely understand the

401

complex issue of PFAS on the West Plains.

402

Therefore, at this time it's

premature to engage in a meeting

403

with West Plains Water Coalition.

404

In the interim, please visit

our website for any updates.

405

Hancock read the email aloud at a

recent informational meeting with

406

dozens of West Plains residents who

are worried their water is poisoned.

407

The site referred to in Woodard's

email links to a two-page document

408

stating SAA will continue.

409

Investigating PFAS related issues

in a logical, data-driven manner,

410

and described as spearheading the

fight against PFAS contamination.

411

Earlier this year, the FAA announced

a transition plan to a florian free

412

firefighting foam, and recently authorized

its use According to the document, as

413

a leader in the industry, the airport

has taken immediate steps to authorize

414

and purchase new PFOS free a FF.

415

CIA's cleanup will likely

take between 11 and 12 years.

416

DOE officials told residents

at WP WC meeting in December.

417

Chuck Danner, who lives about two

miles northeast of Fairchild, but

418

outside the area of its water program

419

was speaking with Dr.

420

Catherine Carr.

421

Carr is an epidemiologist in the

School of Public Health at the

422

University of Washington, and had just

given a presentation at the meeting

423

about how PFAS affects children.

424

Danner 71 drinks from a private

well, and told Carr he had recently

425

had his blood tested for PFAS.

426

The results, which Danner allowed range

to read showed the presence of some kinds

427

of PFAS at more than double the amount

to be expected through normal exposure.

428

He has not tested his well, but

he can't imagine where else the

429

PFAS in his blood came from.

430

It's the same kind of PFAS used in a FA

Well test costs between 350 and $400.

431

I figure nothing's gonna happen

through SIA or Fairchild anytime soon.

432

Danner told Carr I need to stop drinking

PFAS, but it's really difficult.

433

Danner added for the last several years,

I've had a filter on my refrigerator,

434

but a technician told him that's a joke.

435

After shopping around for months,

he bought a Colligan water

436

dispenser with his own money.

437

Carr approved a Danner

of Danner's purchase.

438

That would be my best medical advice.

439

Act two.

440

In our second story, people with

contaminated water are told their

441

wells are safe to drink from.

442

It's titled Community Demand

Solutions as Fairchild reckons

443

with new PFAS contamination rule.

444

Not long after they moved into a trailer

home on a secluded property in the ponder

445

roses between Spokane and Airway Heights.

446

In the early two thousands,

Stephanie and Michael Martel

447

stopped drinking their well water.

448

Michael was having stomach pains.

449

He couldn't fully explain though

he had an idea of the cause

450

he would claim over and over.

451

This water is making me sick.

452

Stephanie said speaking to range

in their living room as Michael

453

listened from his old recliner.

454

They thought maybe high levels of

phosphorus were causing Michael's ailment.

455

The Mattel started hauling bottled

drinking water into their home

456

and had done so since, but they

used well water for other things.

457

I cooked with it and made coffee with it.

458

Stephanie said they also grew

fruit, trees, vegetables, and herbs.

459

But then when we heard about the

chemicals, I quit making coffee with it.

460

They kept growing mint and basil.

461

But not fruits and vegetables.

462

In December, 2021, the Mattels

received the first of what turned

463

out to be quarterly letters

from Fairchild Air Force Base.

464

Fairchild lay upstream on Deep Creek,

several miles southwest of their home.

465

The letters informed the Mattels,

the several forms of per and

466

poly Fluora alcohol substances or

PFAS had contaminated their well.

467

The result of firefighting

drills at Fairchild.

468

Similar operations occurred at bases

across the United States from the

469

1970s until 2022 when firefighters

unaware of the toxicity drenched soils.

470

With PFAS containing foam designed

to extinguish jet fuel, blazes the

471

chemicals then sank into the groundwater.

472

PFAS is the umbrella term for a family

of about 14,000 water resistance.

473

Manmade compounds so persistent.

474

They're known as forever chemicals.

475

They are increasingly recognized

to be associated with many health

476

conditions to include elevated

cholesterol levels, changes in response

477

to vaccinations in some cancers.

478

Former Spokane County Health Officer

Bob Lus, told range last year, only

479

a few of those compounds were used to

manufacture the A FF, but those were

480

considered among the most dangerous.

481

When the base first contacted

the motels, PFAS were considered

482

emerging contaminants.

483

The federal government had not set

limits for PFAS in drinking water.

484

Meanwhile, internal research by

485

linked PFAS exposure to health problems

in animals and humans, but they hid

486

that information from regulators.

487

In 2017, the government

was just catching up.

488

Fairchild could only go by a

health advisory issued by the

489

Environmental Protection Agency.

490

Essentially a guideline rather than

a rule that non-regulatory agencies

491

can use to respond to contamination.

492

It is usually in place while

the EPA finalizes formal limits

493

for any specific contaminant.

494

The level the EPA had identified for

PFAS was 70 parts per trillion, about

495

the same as three and a half water

droplets in an Olympic size swimming pool.

496

That's the metric Fairchild used

to determine whether it owed the

497

Mattel's clean water on May 6th, 2022.

498

Fairchild wrote in a letter to the couple.

499

Your sample results for PFAS

are 57 parts per trillion.

500

Comparing these values to the

Environmental Protection Agency,

501

lifetime health advisory level of 70

parts per trillion, the results indicate

502

that your water is safe to drink.

503

This level would not give them

cancer or alter their organs.

504

The letter implied in April, the EPA

set a much lower health standard.

505

This one, a legally enforceable

maximum contaminant level per PFAS,

506

four parts per trillion, which is

close to the smallest amount that can

507

be measured using current technology

more than half of west Plain's wells.

508

The EPA tested this spring

exceed four parts per trillion.

509

Fairchild will now have to retest

wells to determine current levels and

510

will likely start providing water to

511

Levels in the mattel's well increased

fairchild sent a letter dated September

512

30th that recorded a level of 62.2

513

parts per trillion.

514

Again, they were told Your

water is safe to drink.

515

A January 16th, 2023 Letter recorded 68.5

516

parts per trillion.

517

Then came another letter

reassuring the mattels.

518

Your water is safe to drink On

519

again tested the well resulting in a

measurement of 75 parts per trillion.

520

After that reading, the base would have

to provide the mattels with clean water.

521

A site inspector visited their home, but

there were signs that a pipe was broken,

522

so the mattels would have to fix that

before the filter could be installed.

523

I am bummed because I just

shot myself in the foot.

524

Stephanie told range,

525

but the mattels don't care what the Air

Force says or promises, and they didn't

526

trust their well water in the first place.

527

Then guess what?

528

All of a sudden I'm filled with peace.

529

Do you remember Choctaw Indians?

530

My grandfather was a Choctaw Indian.

531

They were the first tribe removed

under the Indian Removal Act

532

stephanie, who is also a member of the

Choctaw Nation, said, and on the way from

533

Mississippi to Oklahoma, in the middle

of winter removal, they brought tainted

534

blankets with smallpox and delivered.

535

Spoiled meat.

536

Stephanie said she didn't want the

government taking care of her anyway.

537

She felt like she had

dodged a bad relationship.

538

Saying, having been denied a filter was

539

Fairchild tested again this time

finding PFAS at 70 parts per trillion.

540

Despite that, the mattels were

told, your water is safe to drink.

541

In December before the EPA codified

the new limit range asked Fairchild

542

if it thought 70 parts per trillion

was a safe level for drinking.

543

Fairchild Spokesperson, master Sergeant

Jonathan Lovelady responded via email.

544

The Air Force follows DOD policy to

provide alternate drinking water.

545

US EPA sets water quality standards

and the Air Force adheres to them.

546

The rules requiring use of PFOS

lead and aqueous film forming foam.

547

Are no longer in place, but only

after decades of drills using huge

548

amounts of a FF, sometimes filling

entire hangar hangar base with a foam.

549

John Wel is the civilian co-chair

of Fairchild's Restoration Advisory

550

Board, a joint body of Air Force

personnel and residence that provides

551

a forum for the public to engage with

the Air Force Civil Engineer Center,

552

or A-F-C-E-C, which administers

environmental cleanups for the Air Force.

553

He said the PFAS issue echoes

environmental crises of the past.

554

As regulators realized the toxicity

of certain products after widespread

555

damage had already occurred.

556

That's what the EPA told everybody to do.

557

Welch said in an interview,

that's what we knew at the time.

558

It's kind of like when we thought

that asbestos was okay at two

559

fibers per cubic centimeter.

560

Now it's only safe at 0.5.

561

The E P'S new limit on PFAS is one

in a series of developments across

562

the country that have raised national

awareness of the chemicals, prompting

563

new urgency among regulators.

564

States know they must invest in cleanup.

565

Journalists are examining the

extent to which manufacturers

566

hid the dangerous of PFAS.

567

Organizations like the National PFAS

Project Lab are advancing programs

568

to promote awareness and solutions.

569

In response, water, utilities

and corporations with a stake

570

in PFAS manufacturing are

suing over new regulations.

571

In this context, Fairchild like Air

Force bases across the country is feeling

572

pressure to move faster, plotting toward

cleanup the crisis on the West plains.

573

It blew up in the local news in 2017,

after discovering PFAS and Airway Heights

574

drinking Water, Fairchild alerted the city

and a Spokane Regional Health District.

575

Soon after, Spokane lawyers filed a

class action lawsuit in federal court

576

against the base alleging it used HFF.

577

The base knew it would have to clean

up the mess, but first it would

578

have to do remedial investigation

to map the contamination.

579

Progress is slow.

580

Seven years later, research is still

ongoing and it will likely be years

581

before it has a solid plan for a cleanup.

582

Meanwhile, Fairchild subsidizes a program

in Airway Heights to pipe municipal water

583

from Spokane to more than 8,000 residents.

584

Private well owners were left out of

this solution, so the Air Force began

585

installing filters on wells with PFAS

levels above 70 parts per trillion, or

586

delivering bottled water to the owners.

587

At the February 7th RAB meeting, mark

Lauch, a civil engineer who oversees

588

contamination responses at four Air Force

bases across the west, including Fairchild

589

detailed the progress in a PowerPoint

presentation on its filter program.

590

90 filters had been installed, four others

had been connected to municipal water.

591

Two filter installations

were in the works.

592

Two well owners had refused

to sign the contract.

593

Another was no longer in

communication with the Air Force.

594

Two others had site conditions

prohibiting installation of a system.

595

Hundreds of wells are still contaminated.

596

Pointing fingers.

597

West Plain's groundwater flows

easily carrying PFOS with it along

598

underground paleo channels, scrubbed

between basalt ridges by the Missoula

599

floods thousands of years ago.

600

The base assumed its contamination

was confined to two paleo

601

channels underneath it.

602

Hayford Road runs roughly

along the eastern shore of the

603

Eastern most Paleo channel.

604

So Fairchild used it as a boundary

for testing that meant many wells

605

located between Hayford and Deep

Creek, including the motels, were

606

eligible for its water program.

607

Well owners east of Payford, including

hundreds who have found PFAS in

608

their wells, were out of luck.

609

A love lady suggested contamination

beyond Hayford was caused by

610

Spokane International Airport.

611

He is right as Fairchild was

learning of its contamination.

612

SIA also found PFAS in its wells

from similar firefighting training.

613

In contrast with Fairchild, S-I-A-C-E-O,

Larry Crowder did not disclose the

614

airport's contamination until the airport

615

via a citizens' public records request.

616

The citizen gave the results

to the Washington Department of

617

Ecology in the spring of 2023.

618

During the time he was silent

about the contamination, Crowder

619

lobbied lawmakers to allow airports

to continue using P-F-A-S-A-F-F.

620

Ecology is forcing SIA to clean

up its contamination through

621

a state remediation law.

622

Fairchild Air Force Base does not include

the SIA site within its investigation.

623

Love lady wrote in an email, Chad

Pritchard, an Eastern Washington

624

University geologist, has studied

West Plains Hydrology for years.

625

Most recently using a state grant

to monitor PFAS in wells in a much

626

larger area than Fairchild's testing

zone, going as far east as the

627

Palisades along the Spokane River.

628

He said Paleo channels are not

the only conduits for PFAS.

629

The other pathways besides paleo channels

would be people that have drilled

630

wells that have no lining in them.

631

Those would also help communicate water.

632

Prichard said, any of the groundwater

that's in the basement or the lower

633

basalt rock are all intra communicating.

634

Some of these factors potentially

let contamination move farther

635

east outside of its testing area.

636

In an interview with Range LA said,

the Air Force knows it may have to

637

test wells outside the established

service area, mentioning an area north

638

of Fairchild that may be contaminated.

639

We know that we're going

to have to look there.

640

He said, filter rules.

641

Some people serve by fairchild's.

642

Bottled water deliveries or

carbon filters are also unhappy.

643

Marcy Za Brisky lives down the

644

her husband, Larry, was diagnosed

with stage four pancreatic cancer.

645

She didn't know about

the contamination in her.

646

Well, his cancer was so

involved at that point.

647

She said it was up in his throat,

both sides of his neck here, and the

648

whole body of the pancreas was cancer.

649

And then the main veins around

it were ENC case in cancer.

650

His adrenal glands had cancer that

pushes through your whole body.

651

Sitting at her dining table, she pulled

out a document dated February 1st,

652

2022, six months after he passed away.

653

I got that letter in the mail

with a pamphlet on PFAS and I'm

654

like, why did you send me this?

655

Sam Brisky said her mother, Shirley

Morgan, died not long after of

656

a rare form of breast cancer.

657

Two of her five boxers

also died of cancer.

658

Za Brisky worries that vegetables.

659

She grew using water from her

well and fed to her grandchildren

660

are causing them health problems.

661

Fairchild offered to install a granulated

carbon filter on her well, but it

662

requires her to sign a contract with

conditions she does not want to accept,

663

including notifying the Air force if

someone else moves onto her property.

664

Fairchild brings her 15 three and a

half gallon bottles of water that feed

665

into a dispenser every other Wednesday.

666

She wants to sell her home and

move, but doesn't see how that will

667

be possible with contamination.

668

What am I going to say?

669

She said house for sale.

670

Toxic water.

671

183.5

672

parts per trillion.

673

No one's gonna wanna buy this house.

674

Months to ink Contracts for some

fairchild's actions are agonizingly slow.

675

The base hosted a listening session on

April 24th at the Elta Shriner Center.

676

Two weeks after the EPA had codified

the new maximum contaminate level.

677

During a q and a, a woman who said her

well feeds dozens of west Plains homes

678

pointed out that EPA had announced

it would create the new level.

679

Months before that meeting, she said

Fairchild should have been ready to

680

start installing filters immediately.

681

You should have had plans in place

on April 11th to start distributing

682

drinking water, to start testing

additional wells to start handing

683

out faucet filtration systems.

684

The woman said, it's so

frustrating at this point.

685

I didn't cause this.

686

The Air Force did.

687

When are you going to do something?

688

LA who's part of a panel of RAB

and Air Force officials responded.

689

There is a program being put together.

690

I wish I could say it was

ready to go right now.

691

It's been seven years.

692

The woman said.

693

This didn't happen last week.

694

We have so many people who've

lost their entire livelihoods.

695

Laos called on his boss, Robbie Ravi

Chandran, the lead PFOS response Official

696

for the Air Force's Civil Engineers.

697

Ravi Chandran got up from his folding

chair in a corner of the auditorium

698

and explains to the woman that the

problem was bigger than Fairchild.

699

Hundreds of Air Force bases had

caused similar contamination,

700

and its remediation.

701

Could not happen at

every base all at once.

702

We cannot install a system at

every place all at the same time.

703

Ravi said we'd like to prioritize

based on concentration.

704

Highest concentration gets treated first.

705

He said it would be months before

the Air Force could contract

706

with private companies to install

new filters around Fairchild.

707

Even then, Fairchild would have to

retest the wells for current PAS levels.

708

So it's not that we haven't done

anything, Rob Shandra said, but we

709

cannot spend a dollar until the new

maximum contaminant level becomes final.

710

After the level is codified, it

takes time to mint contracts and

711

get filter programs off the ground.

712

The woman was not satisfied.

713

It's been 14 days since the

new MCL went into effect.

714

She said You've had data as far as

hundreds of wells in our area alone that

715

are below the 70, but above the four.

716

How many filtration systems have

you installed in the last 14 days?

717

This is people's lives,

systemic limitations.

718

Fairchild is in the business of

sending military planes into the sky,

719

not providing water to its neighbors.

720

Its leadership is constantly in

flux with a commanding officer who

721

changes every two years, which is

how military commands across the

722

country rotate their commanders.

723

The commander is there for the mission

of the base at John Hancock, a West

724

Plains resident and water activist.

725

And that doesn't include the

neighbors, that's talking of

726

the world, saving the world.

727

So the local frustrations and dangers

and our affronts are not very important.

728

Like any military base, Fairchild is

bound by strictures, dictated by the

729

Department of Defense at a, a tangle of

other federal agencies that restrict its

730

ability to respond to the environmental

crises it might cause or contribute to.

731

The Air Force has a narrow scope of

authority on when and what types of

732

actions can be taken regarding PFAS.

733

Love Lady wrote.

734

This has been communicated through the

rep to enhance awareness of this fact.

735

Fairchild follows an environmental

contamination management manual requiring

736

all bases to clean up in a way that

doesn't interfere with operations.

737

They must ensure an uninterrupted

access to the air, land, and water

738

assets needed to conduct the AAF

mission, the manuals introduction says,

739

but all these limitations are cold.

740

Comfort to a community that has

poison in its water and feels

741

iced out by the bureaucracy.

742

In late 2022, Hancock founded

the West Plains Water Coalition,

743

which advocates for solutions to

the PFAS crisis in the region.

744

The organization holds frequent

informational meetings at the Hub

745

in Airway Heights, inviting speakers

from the Washington Department of

746

Health, E-P-A-E-W-U, the Spokane

County Board of Commissioners,

747

SRHD, and other organizations.

748

At the most recent meeting on

June 3rd, Hancock said he invited

749

Fairchild and SIA to speak.

750

Fairchild declined.

751

SIA didn't respond.

752

He said, Fairchild doesn't exert a

stronger presence in the community,

753

partly because A-F-C-E-C, the Air Force

civil engineer arm that responds to

754

environmental crises and does not do

public relations as part of its mission

755

is administering the water program.

756

It's all gravel and water

and pumps and tests.

757

Hancock said it's not a human services

organization as I think it should be.

758

These are humans with trouble.

759

Asked whether Fairchild feels like

it's part of the local community.

760

Love lady wrote in an email to

761

and 5,000 family members live on

base and in the surrounding area.

762

Protecting the health of our personnel,

their families, and the communities

763

in which we serve is a priority

for the Department of Air Force.

764

He wrote, Fairchild Air Force

Base takes great pride in being

765

part of the INW community.

766

Those are our two acts for the week.

767

More information about the PFAS

crisis on the West Plains, and

768

the various government responses

to it is available@rangemedia.co.

769

That's our time for this week.

770

Free Range is a weekly news and

public affairs program presented

771

by Range Media and produced by

Range Media and KYRS Community

772

Radio, KYRS, medical Lake Spokane.