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JD, Usha Vance visit Greenland as Trump administration eyes territory; Maine nurses, medical workers call for improved staffing ratios; Court orders WA to rewrite CAFO dairy operation permit regulations; MS aims to expand Fresh Start Act to cut recidivism.

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The Dept. of Health and Human Services prepares to cut 10,000 more jobs. Election officials are unsure if a Trump executive order will be enacted, and Republicans in Congress say they aim to cut NPR and PBS funding.

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Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

North TX county declares disaster due to PFAS contamination

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Monday, February 17, 2025   

A north Texas commissioners' court has declared a county disaster because of PFAS contamination.

Johnson County Commissioners are asking Gov. Greg Abbott to join the declaration.

PFAS - also known as forever chemicals - have been found in soil, groundwater, and surface water across the county.

Commissioner Larry Woolley said the problem has been going on since at least 2001, when biosolids were used as fertilizer.

"These chemicals don't break down, they don't go away," said Woolley. "They just build up, and they get more and more concentrated, whether it be in soil and livestock organs. A stillborn calf liver tested 610,000 parts per trillion."

He said well water near biosolid application sites tested positive for PFAS, at levels several hundred times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water limits.

The disaster declaration allows Johnson County to apply for federal assistance for farmers and implement emergency measures to protect public health and safety.

An emergency declaration from the governor would let residents apply for federal assistance.

Deputy Johnson County Constable Dana Ames said the problem is not going away.

"We're around 50 cows now," said Ames. "Back when this first started, it was a couple of cows, it was some dead fish. This is a reoccurring thing because the contamination persists. The PFAS that's there, once you get them into your body, they bioaccumulate."

The county and several ranchers have also sued the EPA, alleging it failed to set limits on the number of PFAS allowed in sewage sludge used as fertilizers.





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