[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6131049,"mediaKeyId","5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438","parentId",5734339,"title","Kirtland bulk‑fuels leak: regulators, Air Force and water authority say pumps and monitoring are limiting spread but work will take years","audioSeconds",2195,"startMs",5810000,"endMs",8005000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438&start=5810&end=8005","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438/thumbnail_5810000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6131049/New-Mexico/Kirtland-bulkfuels-leak-regulators-Air-Force-and-water-authority-say-pumps-and-monitoring-are-limiting-spread-but-work-will-take-years","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6131049-24dc9cb3035539e2bacc0a04c5064c28/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439270&Signature=J4Powdi6Tq389ve0b6qpYnMCQoYxsqw5Mdl~Pd0dwqfWFnEMykQlk~q0A-11srX6bdFttdMAhLPNpcFQXfhTxK7CFJ1J6InjVKxMG13EqUVh5GrD09tqwOx3g0qZiHRwZ9M1yVUed72~QPb1RZWb693FkMt29W-B29zeS~DMGqnigAW0gmg9Nfggjab19ZAj55v5T8f7mxSQccxAo9kynMwhSaOkTU-EsZuXMYEGyobqd2ouqmREzLl7BSGNqSPgGXNBtCxw6~S6qEJkxcFWW~nEv~~xDaoJUPKPd18Y0ru7X0lZ-NXzX9iYumKtLWdWcJ1XH0fV89G0wGUTPfOD~g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee","date","2025-09-02T00:00:00Z","article","New Mexico hazardous‑waste regulators and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority updated the Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee on a decades‑old jet‑fuel release near Kirtland Air Force Base and described current monitoring, interim measures and the timeline toward a formal corrective remedy.

Nature and scope of the release

John David “JD” Nance, Hazardous Waste Bureau chief at the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), said the bulk fuels facility is being managed under the state’s RCRA corrective‑action framework. Nance described the process: investigation, corrective measures evaluation, remedy selection and corrective measures implementation. He said recent work has focused on better characterizing the source zone and the dissolved‑phase plume—particularly benzene and ethylene dibromide (EDB)—and on adding monitoring wells and samples for light non‑aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) to guide remedy evaluation.

Kelsey Bicknell, environmental manager for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, told the committee the utility treats the plume as a priority groundwater contamination site because the aquifer supplies a large fraction of the city’s water. \"We serve about a third of the population of New Mexico,\" Bicknell said, noting that drought increases reliance on groundwater supplies. She described utility modeling showing that without action the contamination’s impact on drinking‑water assets could last centuries; the current pump‑and‑treat system reduces that horizon substantially, she said.

Interim remedies, monitoring and risks

Air Force project manager Ryan Wortman and NMED explained ongoing interim measures. Wortman said four extraction wells installed between 2015 and 2018 continuously pump groundwater that is treated with granular activated carbon (GAC) to remove EDB and other constituents; treated water is reinjected or used for on‑base irrigation. \"We've never seen any breakthrough of EDB through our treatment system,\" Wortman said.

Bicknell cautioned that the pump‑and‑treat is an interim measure only. She said modeling indicates that with the pump system in place cleanup could take roughly a century, while no action could leave impacts for centuries (utility models gave a worst‑case estimate of roughly 800 years). The utility has installed a monitoring well through state capital outlay to provide an early warning for migration. Nance said NMED is reviewing a Phase‑2 RCRA Facility Investigation report submitted April 29, 2025, and is using a third‑party contractor to ensure thorough technical review and a timely back‑and‑forth with the Air Force.

Next steps and public involvement

All presenters described a collaborative, iterative review: NMED will provide comments on the Phase‑2 RFI; the Air Force will respond; and the corrective‑measures evaluation (CME) phase will use the assembled data to propose specific remediation alternatives and launch a formal public comment period. Wortman said the Air Force has contracted remediation experts and believes enough information exists to move the project into the CME. Nance said NMED is aiming for a collaborative review (early questions and iterative exchanges) to keep the long review from stalling.

Why the public should care

Bicknell said the site is the most serious of the water‑quality risks the utility tracks; while extraction and treatment have held the plume away from supply wells so far, she said changes to the pump‑and‑treat operation would be necessary as characterization improves. \"There is a possibility of breakthrough under these conditions,\" she told the committee, and the authority seeks a contingency agreement with the Air Force to ensure replacement supply aif a supply well is impacted.

Ending

Officials asked the committee for continued oversight and support while technical reviews proceed. NMED will publish its comments and continue stakeholder meetings; the Air Force will pursue the corrective‑measures evaluation and then a public remedy selection and comment period.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee- Sep 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","State hazardous‑waste regulators, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and Air Force engineers told a legislative committee that a long‑running jet‑fuel release near Kirtland Air Force Base is being managed with monitoring and an active pump‑and‑treat system that prevents current drinking‑water impacts but that a full remedy will take years and requires more site characterization.","taxTitle","Radioactive & Hazardous Materials, Interim, Committees, Legislative, New Mexico","taxId",65423,"location","New Mexico","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6131054,"New Mexico reports near‑universal PFAS in Curry County blood tests; regulators outline rules, inventory and litigation",1125,294000,1419000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438&start=294&end=1419","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438/thumbnail_294000.jpg","/articles/6131054/New-Mexico/New-Mexico-reports-nearuniversal-PFAS-in-Curry-County-blood-tests-regulators-outline-rules-inventory-and-litigation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6131054-378a5d23143868e1f14fbb5e26ca08b9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439270&Signature=Pi7zueg~jdogzP16VrFlNciLC0tOjWEFNdVZEfIhzKWSGVivBvv8wjIc9hq2b32sRUD8M68csJNSotdHmGqKEJmRccO9Yh831KsXW4-kiyyubrBPpQuqn~GCGeL0iVjuZj965b0dCcsQzpqMPcdRDA5TKByolfrh-MW-xCN0rlOGy5Jc9Tv93d76E5c3bEWITLuAZVihtqHGZwnN9~QWkf~Ec5ohjsUP4ICribGP3nNytT5RnWjtT~FYwimAhAGuR9YrRf9V0rxiKmSwEx2FJv1sEnHXFkfnqf5FTJsRU0UqN9MWkSCk6O6OXlyg6nRXdMcetz3HwYr5Mf-3dphcGw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Secretary James Kenney, New Mexico Environment Department, told the Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee on Sept. 1 that a state‑funded blood testing project in Curry County found PFAS in nearly every participant and identified chemical patterns the state links to firefighting foams.

The testing program—organized by the Environment Department with the Department of Health and conducted in Curry County after community requests for study—set out to measure exposure and guide public health responses. Secretary Kenney described the numbers and next steps: draft rules on consumer goods and hazardous waste, capital outlay to connect rural Curry County to public water and litigation the state has launched and faces with the Department of the Air Force.

The testing results

The department said volunteers made 724 testing appointments and 638 blood samples were collected; 628 were analyzed. \"Ninety‑nine point seven percent of the participants had PFAS in their blood,\" Kenney said. He told the committee that while low‑level PFAS is now widely detectable in U.S. populations, the Curry County samples showed a distinctive pattern: \"what we found was the types of PFAS that were in people had what I'll call a fingerprint for firefighting foams.\" The department reported one PFAS (PFHxS) at about 3.23 times a prior national average and PFOS at about 2.2 times the prior average; roughly 26% of participants fell into the previously defined national highest‑concentration tier for PFAS.

Why the state is regulating PFAS now

Kenney reviewed two 2025 legislative outcomes the Environment Department is implementing. House Bill 212 (PFAS Protection Act) requires product labeling, reporting and an \"unavoidable use\" exemption process; the department plans stakeholder draft rules in September and to seek Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) action this winter. He said the department will propose enforcement tariffs and a public comment period before rules are finalized ahead of a January 2027 effective date for initial protections.

Separately, the legislature amended the state Hazardous Waste Act to designate AFFF (aqueous film‑forming foam) as hazardous waste and to preserve the state's hazardous‑waste list unless the Legislature changes it. \"We listed AFFF ... as a hazardous waste,\" Kenney said, adding the law also exempts agriculture from certain impacts and authorizes EIB rulemaking to inventory on‑base and unused foam, plan for treatment and disposal, and integrate those controls into the state's hazardous‑waste framework.

Community response, health guidance and funding

Kenney described extensive community outreach in Curry County—meetings at kitchens, coffee shops and public events—and said the state supplied individual test results and medical follow‑up options. He said the state will continue DOH education for clinicians and a public meeting in Clovis on Oct. 23.

On funding, Kenney told the panel that capital outlay includes roughly $12 million to connect rural Curry County to public water and about $2 million to identify and help residents on private wells get filters and maintenance; the department is working on distribution plans.

Litigation and next steps

Kenney updated the committee on litigation: the federal government sued New Mexico over the state's permitting authority (10th Circuit briefing pending), and New Mexico has mounted a bellwether case in multi‑district litigation in South Carolina against the Department of the Air Force seeking monetary and remedial relief. He described both federal and state court tracks as central to the state's strategy and urged continued monitoring, rulemaking and community outreach.

Why this matters

The department characterized the Curry County study as a validation of community concerns and a metric for how environment and health agencies can work together: testing, clinical outreach, and funding to reduce exposure pathways. Committee members pressed for technical details—sampling methods, whether military personnel were included, and how the state will compare its data to new CDC datasets expected this fall. Several members urged broader deployment of baseline testing and expanded outreach to other communities with potential PFAS exposures.

Ending

Kenney requested continued legislative support for rulemaking and funding and described the work as a long‑term program: testing, monitoring, litigation and potential remediation. The department said it will return with rule drafts and that the EIB will consider the state’s consumer‑product and hazardous‑waste rules in coming months.

","Secretary James Kenney of the New Mexico Environment Department told the Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee that a recent Curry County blood‑testing project found PFAS in 99.7% of participants and a chemical mix \"fingerprint\" consistent with firefighting foam, and described forthcoming state rules, funding and litigation tied to the findings.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6131044,"New Mexico prepares Class‑6 carbon‑sequestration rules; officials outline stricter monitoring, community consultation",1115,9800000,10915000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438&start=9800&end=10915","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5734339-8a5fa4f09a3c57f54ce2cefe88252438/thumbnail_9800000.jpg","/articles/6131044/New-Mexico/New-Mexico-prepares-Class6-carbonsequestration-rules-officials-outline-stricter-monitoring-community-consultation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6131044-1671e9729fc9982b47b876ec4eb0b46f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770439270&Signature=b2cBZzBet~-7yzbaBSR5OvEt1U-Fl1mD8VBpYl3fU5OR3pzG147jG2SJjnXaKzLdJUvJLiuaUHolY2iDCj7GaQl-Svt7L~odn0Om5Zl66rK4VWcNQZVjcJXk1UE2eU-Sk7pU9XDMXU6Fq3ODXbMq4x7q9Zoc0ga-s6rWZwCDR6c6YjhYj~gT~Odd4qSoZz3T~lwxyTTxGdatQuMqfGmx5qQWcrp2mjqpYLo8jADwqa6A8dg4Xf3ChMnzOlGQiI9TsWgoBOEvxztdWPJBXiTFIzXaSWmQ5iLWoL5pRM5-z-O40cmmHzg4RdmX5BBTaRamC3xkmvzzsvNk3CmWnBqAKw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Officials from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) and the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) briefed the Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee on state plans to pursue primacy (delegated authority) for Class‑6 underground‑injection control permits for geologic carbon dioxide storage.

What the rulemaking covers

Albert Chang, newly appointed OCD director, described Class‑6 permits as the federal Safe Drinking Water Act mechanism for authorizing injection of CO2 into deep formations for long‑term storage. He said Class‑6 rules are designed to protect public health and drinking water and to address specific CO2 issues—buoyancy, large injected volumes and acidification and corrosion of well components—and that modeling and area‑of‑review work are essential parts of any permit application.

EMNRD deputy secretary Ben Shelton and OCD staff outlined a multi‑step process: stakeholder outreach; a technical crosswalk between federal requirements and proposed state enhancements; a draft state rule package; an application to EPA for primacy; and post‑delegation permitting and oversight. The department said EPA Region 6 has been informally consulted and that a formal EPA review will follow the state rule filing. Shelton said the department will propose several items that go beyond federal minimums—specific testing, monitoring and strengthened community consultation—based on legislative input and House interim work.

Key proposed features and concerns

Officials told the committee the proposed state rule will emphasize:

- Pre‑permit and ongoing monitoring (including pressure and chemical monitoring in the area of review);
- Mandatory computational modeling to predict plume extent and pressure effects and to identify existing wells in the area of review;
- Detailed well‑construction standards and testing to prevent leakage and to manage corrosion risk; and
- Codified community engagement processes beyond the federal minimum—including notification lists and local public‑briefing procedures.

Shelton said the department received a federal grant to support primacy work and has contracted New Mexico Tech and partners to prepare the technical rule elements; the outreach docket was open for pre‑rule input through Sept. 26. Chang emphasized that while federal rules set a floor, the state intends to adopt a tailored program that reflects New Mexico’s geology and public‑interest concerns.

Timeline, funding and next steps

EMNRD said it will file a rule package with OCD and the state rulemaking process will include formal public hearings and an opportunity for written comment; once a state rule package is adopted the department will submit an application to EPA for delegation. The department projected a multi‑year path: final state rules, then EPA review and final primacy—timelines that depend on EPA review and public comment schedules.

Why this matters

Committee members voiced concerns about pipeline transport, seismic risks, long‑term stewardship and financial assurances for perpetual monitoring and any late‑arising remediation. Officials said the state is designing financial assurances and a state fee program (a per‑ton fee was discussed during the 2025 legislative session) to fund oversight, monitoring and long‑term contingency response, and that the rule will require robust monitoring, modeling and well identification to limit risks to drinking‑water resources.

Ending

The department encouraged public input on the pre‑rule docket, said more stakeholder meetings would be scheduled and that the state seeks to ensure any delegated program includes stronger community protections than federal minimums.","State oil and natural resources officials told lawmakers they will seek federal approval to regulate Class‑6 carbon‑dioxide injection wells in New Mexico and propose standards stricter than federal minima: expanded public engagement, modeling, area‑of‑review surveys and long‑term monitoring and plugging requirements. The department said a public」","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Kirtland bulk‑fuels leak: regulators, Air Force and water authority say pumps and monitoring are limiting spread but work will take years

New Mexico reports near‑universal PFAS in Curry County blood tests; regulators outline rules, inventory and litigation

New Mexico prepares Class‑6 carbon‑sequestration rules; officials outline stricter monitoring, community consultation