Santa Fe - The New Mexico Environment Department is soliciting public comment on the draft 2016 Strategic Plan for Kirtland Air Force Base fuel plume cleanup.
“This Strategic Plan is our roadmap for continuing the aggressive actions to clean the soil and groundwater over the next year,” said Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn. “The strategies and collaborative efforts of 2015 enable our continued progress in 2016 to ensure that the health and safety of Albuquerque citizens is protected.”
In 2015, the Environment Department and the U.S. Air Force closed data gaps to better define the northeastern extent of the ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume. Teams began collapsing the EDB plume through a pump and treat system, and they conducted laboratory and field studies to identify the best technologies for remediating the plume’s source area. These successful measures led to the installation of 19 new ground-water monitoring wells and to the first treatment system for contaminated water in the history of the site.
Since June the first extraction well has removed over 16 million gallons of water from the center of the EDB plume, filtering out over 6,400 micrograms of EDB. Two more extraction wells will be in full operation in a few weeks, more than tripling the current extraction and treatment activity.
Continued progress that is planned for 2016 is outlined in the draft 2016 Strategic Plan, available at:
http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/NMED/Issues/KirtlandFuelPlume/index.html.
- Public comment period ends at 5 p.m. January 15, 2016.
- Hard copy or electronic written comments will be accepted; email is preferred.
- Send comments to the following address:
Dennis McQuillan, Chief Scientist
New Mexico Environment Department
PO Box 5469
Santa Fe, NM 87502
For more information contact: Dennis McQuillan at 505-827-2140 or Jill Turner at 505-222-9548.