Environmental restoration teams get to work on base

  • Published
  • By Sheila Rupp
  • Nucleus journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Starting out as Albuquerque Army Air Base in the 1941, Kirtland has a long history, which also means that there has been an accumulation of waste products and items that are not considered environmentally sound today.

The Environmental Restoration Program has been remedying the problems that the past brought to the base. The ERP is a venture of the Environmental Management Branch of the 377th Mission Support Group. Members of Team Kirtland, including Air Force personnel, contractors and regulators have worked together to advance 163 sites to No Further Action status with the state of New Mexico in the last three years, Carl Lanz, chief of the restoration program, said.

NFA status means that the state has deemed the area sound and requires no further improvements to the site.

A former fire training area on the west side of the base received NFA status in September 2003. The area had a fuel storage tank and fire training activities were held in two unlined fire pits twice a week. Contaminated fuel, waste oil and other solvents were ignited and extinguished with aqueous film forming foam and any remains were allowed to evaporate or permeate the ground. Between 2001 and 2002, a four-inch thick MatCon™ cover was installed to prevent contamination at the site.

The restoration team is working on bringing other sites to NFA status as well, such as septic tank systems.

"We have been using a concerted research effort on a number of sites to make a determination on historical site use. This will allow us to show the New Mexico Environmental Department that past use was taken into consideration before applying analytical methods to looking septic system contaminants," said Wayne Bitner of environmental restoration.

There are also currently strong efforts to repair covers on landfills. Most of the landfills on base have six foot thick evapotranspiration covers that allow certain infiltrations of water to allow for grass growth, but do not allow moisture permeation. Several of the covers are undergoing repairs due to erosion because of heavy rains received this summer.

Possibly the most visible project to those with base access is the renovations to the golf course main pond.

A liner was installed underneath the pond in 1998, but it was discovered that the liner had been compromised because of vegetation growing through the liner. Restorations to the main pond liner and five small ponds are current projects. The construction should be completed by the end of November.

The golf course staff uses water in the pond to irrigate the course. The pond has nitrate levels just below the threshold limits for the state of New Mexico.

Mr. Lanz said the golf course project is a wonderful example of environmentally- sound and economic improvements.

"We're reusing water for the irrigation of the golf course, the golf course doesn't need to purchase fertilizer and we're making the improvements to the liner so it's not compromised in the future," he said.

The entire Environmental Restoration Program is an ongoing project to bring Kirtland sites up to current state environmental standards and beyond.

"It's been a successful program because it's a good team effort. The people involved are dedicated to the program and dedicated to Kirtland Air Force Base," Mr. Lanz said.