NM Ag Secretary on PFAS

Recently, New Mexico Department of Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte spoke about the military’s contamination of groundwater in New Mexico—and specifically, about how PFAS contamination from firefighting foams used for decades at Cannon Air Force Base have affected Highland Dairy owner Art Schaap, who says he has been dumping milk since 2018, when the U.S. Air Force notified him it had contaminated the water that supplies his home, dairy, and employee housing.

Schaap now says his biggest problem has to do with disposal of cow carcasses, as the herd ages and dies off, and he has appealed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for help.

NMPBS reached out to the USDA, whose spokesperson said no one is available for an interview, and who stopped responding to follow up emails requesting information as to whether the federal agency is in conversation with Schaap, state officials, or New Mexico’s federal delegation.

According to Witte, the federal agency has told the New Mexico Department of Agriculture they’re revising their rule on the dairy indemnity payment program.

That program compensates dairy producers when they’ve been required to remove their milk from market due to contamination. A change could allow the agency to compensate producers for the cows, not just the milk.