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Milestone event marks progress in fuel plume cleanup

  • Published
  • By Kendahl Johnson
  • Kirtland Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  To mark an important milestone in the efforts to protect Albuquerque's groundwater and remediate contamination from a leak at Kirtland's bulk fuels facility, the base hosted an event Aug. 13.

The event marked the installation of a pump-and-treat water system and the successful extraction and treatment of ethylene dibromide contamination associated with the fuel leak discovered in 1999. The system went online June 4 and has treated more than two million gallons of water.

The event also recognized the hard work of collaborators in creating solutions to protect Albuquerque's drinking water supply. The Air Force has worked closely with New Mexico's Environment Department, city and state leaders, community members and other stakeholders on cleanup efforts.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said the milestone was important because the treatment system is a step in the right direction and "sticks the first dagger right in the heart of the plume."

"We promised we would move more aggressively and implement measures to reduce the threat of contamination of Albuquerque's water supply and that's exactly what we've tried to do," James said.

She said the single most important goal in this project is to protect the citizens and the health of Albuquerque and the surrounding community, which aligns with her number one priority of taking care of people.

"It means taking care of Airmen and their families, but it also means taking care of the communities and the environments where we, the Air Force, work, live, go to school and raise our families," James said. "We have a deep and vested interest in keeping Albuquerque's environment safe and healthy."

Many of the speakers at the event lauded the Air Force's efforts in remediating the spill, but noted the treatment system is just the beginning of the most aggressive phase of this project.

"This is an important step, but it is merely the first step," said Gov. Susana Martinez, R-NM. "There's still a lot of work to be done. The job's not done yet."

Two more extraction wells and three monitoring wells are planned for drilling in the fall.  The monitoring wells are intended to help further define the extent of the contamination.

Other prominent figures from the community who spoke at the event included Ryan Flynn, cabinet secretary for NMED; U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, D-NM; Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham, D-NM; Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry; Commissioner Maggie Hart-Stebbins, Bernalillo County Commissioner;  Matthew Padilla, representing Senator Tom Udall's office; and Col. Eric Froehlich, 377th Air Base Wing commander.