‘Forever chemicals’ feared to be in water via legal loopholes

where Suncor impacts the South Platte via the Burlington Canal,” he said.

However, Barnes said the city is concerned about PFAS from the Suncor facility impacting their water supply. ey are actively investigating their PFAS sources.

Creek and 3-18% of the total PFAS loading in the South Platte.”

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A study from Earthjustice blames the Suncor re nery in Commerce City and re ghting foam for leaching cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals’ PFAs into the municipal water supply for several Adams County cities. And it’s legal.

A water source for ornton — the South Platte River — runs past that facility. According to City Spokesperson Todd Barnes, a portion of ornton’s water comes from the South Platte river, but they grab it before the Suncor facility.

“ ornton currently gets most of its South Platte surface water above

“ ornton is actively engaged in an investigation to determine the source(s) of our pollution and will identify and pursue those potentially responsible parties once that investigation is complete,” he said. Earthjustice pointed to a study they funded. Conducted by Westwater Hydrology, they found connections between PFAS found in both Sand Creek and the South Platte River – which provides water used by Commerce City, Brighton, ornton and Aurora– to the Suncor re nery.

According to a news release from Earthjustice, “the study found that Suncor’s 2021 discharges from just one outfall, 020, account for 16-47% of the total PFAS loading in Sand