ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO COUNTY
WATER UTILITY AUTHORITY
BILL NO. R-14-11 |
RESOLUTION
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Declaring the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority's (Water Authority) Position that Ethylene Dibromide at any Detectable Level Will Not Be Allowed to Enter the Potable Drinking Water System.
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WHEREAS, Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) notified the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in November of 1999 that leakage from their now former bulk fuels facility (BFF) had been observed; and
WHEREAS, in 2000, KAFB observed jet fuel-related contaminants to the previously reported leakage, including ethylene dibromide (EDB); and
WHEREAS, EDB is highly toxic and a suspected carcinogen with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated maximum contaminant level goal of zero, with the lowest analytical method detection limit for EDB at 10 parts per trillion; and
WHEREAS, the KAFB Bulk Fuels Facility Spill site has since contaminated the aquifer outside the base perimeter and below the City of Albuquerque with a dissolved-phase EDB plume that is not fully characterized, has not been contained, and continues to migrate towards the Water Authority's Ridgecrest well field; and
WHEREAS, the United States Air Force (USAF)/KAFB has publically declared ownership of the fuel spill and has pledged to remediate the fuel spill before it contaminates any Water Authority production well; and
WHEREAS, the Water Authority supports the complete containment and remediation of the KAFB BFF Spill dissolved phase plume before it damages more of the aquifer and the city's only drought reserve, and reaches any of the Water Authority's production wells; and
WHEREAS, the Water Authority's Water Resources Management Strategy is intended to provide a safe and sustainable water supply by preserving and protecting the aquifer; and
WHEREAS, preventing further degradation of the aquifer should be a top priority for the USAF/KAFB and its contractor; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico Environment Department sent a letter to KAFB on June 6, 2014, disapproving the base's conceptual plan to allow the EDB contamination to continue to migrate in the aquifer and reach one of KAFB's production wells as an interim measure to contain the plume; and
WHEREAS, containment of the dissolved phase plume is a fundamental requirement of the performance-based contract with USAF/KAFB's contractor and proven technologies exist that can contain the dissolved phase contamination before it reaches production wells.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE WATER AUTHORITY:
Section 1. The Water Authority requests that the USAF/KAFB and its contractor to immediately develop and implement an appropriate remediation plan that prevents further migration of the dissolved phase EDB plume.
Section 2. The Water Authority requests that the USAF/KAFB and its contractor continue to monitor the location of the plume and install additional monitoring wells to track the movement if it continues towards the Water Authority's water supply wells.
Section 3. The Water Authority will not allow EDB contaminated water at any level to enter the potable drinking water system.