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Revised Short-term Interim Action Work Plan accepted
This plan details how Spokane International Airport, City of Spokane, and Spokane County propose to supply one 12-cup pitcher "and/or" one 22-cup countertop filter to everyone in the interim action area. They are also providing free access to the Garden Springs filling station with two 5-gallon, food-safe containers. The responsible parties will be offering PFAS testing to all private wells in the affected area.
We received the draft work plan on March 20 and provided our comments on March 27. The responsible parties submitted a revised plan that did not incorporate all our comments on April 3. After considering our options, we accepted the revised plan as final on April 13 to keep the work progressing because it meets the minimum requirements for the interim action. Our acceptance of the plan starts the schedule of deadlines for work:
- Begin providing drinking water by May 13
- Send letters about how to get filters and sign up for well testing by May 28
Although the plan can't be changed now that we have accepted it, we are asking the responsible parties to clarify in an email to us and in their communications with the public the following issues we noted in our acceptance letter:
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Bottled water should be provided in addition to, or instead of, countertop and pitcher filters.
- One countertop and one pitcher filter may not be enough water for each residence, especially larger households. During previous efforts, Ecology and the Washington Department of Health (DOH) provided one 22-cup countertop filter for every 2 people in homes outside our Culligan delivery area.
- Continuing DOH's work to install under-sink filters would be another more desirable option until whole-house systems are installed as part of the long-term interim action.
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Will everyone be given both the countertop and pitcher filters, as well as Garden Springs filling station access? Garden Springs filling station access is helpful as an additional option, especially if it can be used outside the home, but it won't be accessible to everyone.
- Allowing only those residents who are able to self-fill water bottles at the Garden Springs station and then transport full bottles to their homes limits access to clean drinking water. It creates an unfair impact on some people (for example, the elderly, the infirm, those without transportation).
- If water from the filling station can be used outside the home, can people fill their own larger containers, and will there be a limit on usage? In city and county local government meetings, responsible parties have said water from Garden Springs could be used outside the home with no limit on usage, while the plan states this water is only for in-home use.
The signed Short-term Interim Action Work Plan with "draft" removed is due April 20. We will hold a 60-day public comment period and public meeting for it. The dates will be set after we receive the signed plan, and we will email you when the comment period starts.
Initial PFAS Investigation report final
On March 13, the Spokane Airport, City of Spokane, and Spokane County (responsible parties) submitted the revised Initial PFAS Investigation Report, which incorporated some of our comments. We approved the report on March 19, noting parts we still disagree with in a letter. Read our report summary.
13 home-raised egg and meat samples collected
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In early March, we collected 13 more samples of home-grown eggs and meats from 12 families on the West Plains in our fourth round of testing. We are so appreciative of our community partners! In this round of testing, we wanted to serve more households and retest households that took action to lower the PFAS in their foods.
If you missed our community presentation on the results from our first three rounds of egg and livestock testing for PFAS, you can watch PFAS and Agriculture on the West Plains Water Coalition's YouTube channel.
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In previous testing in the West Plains and East Selah, we found that 80% of home-raised eggs and 25% of meats had too much PFAS to safely eat every day. We provided those households advice about how to lower PFAS in their animals and make their food safe to eat again.
169 under-sink filters installed as of April 10
DOH is continuing to work with Fogle Pump and Supply to install under-sink filters (Pentair ChlorPlus Protect 10 system). To get on the list to have a DOH filter installed, submit your results to Ecology by April 30. All installations are expected to be done by June 30, 2026, when the contract expires. Bottled water delivery will end April 30. 180 of the homes receiving under-sink filters from DOH are in the airport interim action area.
Erika Beresovoy, Ecology, and Suzi Hokonson, League of Women's Voters, will share tips for writing effective public comments. Attendees will join 5-person workgroups for hands-on activities. Registration is limited to 40 people.
Joe Hollenback, Spokane County Deputy Assessor, is presenting his research study assessing real estate transactions of West Plains rural residential properties, which has been funded by a national foundation.
Contact
Erika Beresovoy
Public outreach coordinator
509-385-2290
WestPlainsPFAS@ecy.wa.gov
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