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West Plains residents urge Spokane County to include area in aquifer protection renewal and form PFAS task force
Summary
Residents told county commissioners on April 1 that the West Plains aquifer and thousands of private wells are contaminated with PFAS and asked the commission to include the West Plains in a proposed Aquifer Protection Area renewal and to convene a publicly accessible task force to address contamination and water access.
Residents from the West Plains told the Spokane County Board of Commissioners on April 1 that a longstanding contamination problem tied to aviation and other regional uses is harming private drinking wells and asked the county to include the West Plains in a proposed Aquifer Protection Area (APA) renewal and to form a public task force on PFAS.
Julia McHugh, a West Plains resident, said the area’s sole-source wells are being left out of the current APA renewal and urged the board to change that. "We residents request inclusion of the West Plains on this ballot issue," McHugh said, adding that residents were promised county-supported clean water measures in 2024 that she said have not materialized.
Other speakers described health and environmental concerns they attribute to PFAS. Terry Horn cited state groundwater statutes and the county’s critical areas code as reasons the county must act, saying, "You have a mandamus. It means do your job." Mike Peterson, who recently presented on PFAS to the Spokane River Toxics Advisory Council, encouraged commissioners to form a task force and said contamination is re-entering the aquifer through surface irrigation: "The sooner we can get this together, get a task force...the ecology people are ready to go, but they need a little pressure and help from you guys too," he said.
Speakers offered varying details about the scale of contamination. McHugh said the West Plains has "more than 4,000 sole source wells, 50% of which are impacted by PFAS at levels above the EPA maximum contaminant levels"; the article attributes that figure to residents' testimony and does not independently verify it. Several residents called for a publicly accessible task force and immediate county action to identify short- and long-term remediation and safe water solutions.
County commissioners did not take immediate action during the meeting on April 1; the public comments were recorded during the open forum. Commissioners acknowledged the testimony and discussed related items later in the agenda but did not adopt a formal motion or directive on the task force during the session.
The speakers identified local agencies and community groups in their remarks and urged coordination among Spokane County, the Spokane Regional Health District and state ecology officials, while several said they perceive the health district as not sufficiently engaged. Residents said they want a transparent, publicly operating task force with regular meetings and clear public outreach.
The issue is on the commission’s public records and commenters said they have submitted written comments for the record. Residents and advocates may seek follow-up contact with county staff and the commission to request a formal timeline and scope for any task force or APA changes.
