December 13, 2024
The City of Tucson has filed suit against the United States under several tort claims for contamination of the City’s drinking water aquifer with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMAFB). The City filed its complaint on December 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
The complaint brings claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act for public nuisance, trespass, and failure to warn of the likelihood of hazardous substances releases to the plaintiff’s wells.
Tucson states that it has taken nearly 30 drinking water production wells out of service because of detected PFAS contamination. It has also lost the water supply it was receiving from water treated at the Tucson Airport Remediation Project (TARP) Superfund remedy because of PFAS contamination in that supply. The City is seeking past, present, and future damages caused by PFAS contamination from DMAFB, monetary damages for public nuisance and trespass, and attorney fees and legal expenses.
The source of the PFAS contamination at/from DMAFB, as with U.S. military bases around the world, is aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a fire retardant used by the military for fuel fires since the 1960s. In using AFFF for training exercises, equipment testing, and firefighting, the military has released significant quantities of foam into the environment, contaminating soil, groundwater, and other environmental media. PFAS exposure has been linked to a number of health concerns, including certain cancers, thyroid issues, liver and heart impacts, and developmental impacts in infants and children.
The City of Tucson first reported PFAS in its water supply wells in 2013. The City has been battling with the Department of the Air Force for over a decade in efforts to address the Department’s PFAS contamination. Several nearby bases have contributed to the City’s water contamination over several decades—DMAFB, former Air Force Plant #44, and Morris Air National Guard Base (MANG). Air Force Plant #44 (AFP44) is part of the nearby Tucson International Airport Area Superfund site, and AFP44 and MANG were the subjects of an emergency drinking water order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May 2024 to address PFAS from the sites that continues to impact the water supply from TARP.
While the City of Tucson is working with EPA, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and the Air Force in implementing the requirements of the May drinking water order, this latest move from the City against DMAFB reinforces the severity of the PFAS problem and the limitations of negotiations aimed at addressing the contamination to date.