Commentary: The State of the Environment on Kirtland Air Force Base Published Dec. 5, 2008 By Col. Matthew R. Bartlett 377th Mission Support Group commander KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico -- There are a lot of terms out there today that describe how "environmental" something or someone is: sustainable, ecological, green, energy efficient, good stewardship, etc. Is Kirtland AFB any of these things? Frankly, those terms mean different things to different people - rarely does anything equate exactly to a single set of terms or definition. It is worth taking a moment to try to honestly assess the "state of the environment" here at Kirtland. Most of the individuals who live and work here see the main thoroughfares of Gibson, Wyoming and Hardin Boulevards and their associated structures that they work in every day, as the face of the installation. But Kirtland is so much more than the concrete, glass and stucco that house the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the 377th Air Base Wing and all of our mission partners. Out there in over 52,000 acres, almost 81 square miles, is a world within itself; a virtual cross section of the ecological system that sustains our entire planet, and we are charged with its stewardship. Team Kirtland is charged with several missions on this installation, but probably our most important is that ground, the water and all the species that populate it. Albuquerque has surprisingly good air quality for a metropolitan area. The county meets all the EPA's air quality standards, due in large part to the proactive programs they've implemented: vehicle emissions testing, oxygenated fuel and dust control at construction sites to name a few. At Kirtland, we implement several measures to limit what we emit to the air: high tech filters on corrosion control areas, routine maintenance of engines to make sure they run clean, and vapor recovery at the gas stations are all examples. Our comprehensive air management program was recently reviewed and validated during an Air Force Materiel Command Team for Natural Resources Staff Assistance Visit. A key part of our management program is staying on top of developing regulations and contributing input to their development. Living in the desert, water resources of course are at a premium. Kirtland has a cross-functional team that watches our water closely from all angles: infrastructure, public health, use-reduction and environmental compliance. Kirtland's operations sector pumps its own drinking water, and provides an annual report to the entire base population regarding water quality. Our personnel living within base housing share the City of Albuquerque's water supply. Currently, the Kirtland Operations System is one of the few water systems in the entire state to meet the EPA's tough drinking water standards for arsenic. Additionally, Kirtland monitors our wastewater and storm-water output to make sure we don't impact the Rio Grande ecosystem. This is accomplished through the education of our organizational personnel on the importance of eliminating pollutants to our storm and wastewater drains and through the continuous oversight of mission activities for environmental impacts. The Air Force Materiel Command Team for Natural Resources determined our mission was not negatively impacted by water limitations, due solely to these multiple efforts in proactively managing our water supply. Hazardous waste management is an environmental area that affects nearly every single office and mission partner on this base. If you think you don't play a part, look up at the ceiling - if you have fluorescent lighting, you're in a building that needs to manage hazardous waste. We've worked hard over the years to streamline our management programs and reduce our compliance burden, and it's recently paid off; our recent inspection from the New Mexico Environment Department showed a marked decrease in the number of violations in our shops and offices and drew compliments from the regulators on all our efforts. We need to continue to improve our programs to get our violation count down to zero - a feat our regulators believe we can accomplish. To reach that goal, we are strengthening our unit environmental coordinator program and implementing an "Environmental Management System" across the installation. These are two proven methods to communicate environmental management issues to all of Team Kirtland. Kirtland's 52,000 acres provide an outstanding habitat for a myriad of plants and animals. In fact, the Audubon Society has identified Kirtland as an "Important Bird Area," primarily because of the habitat we provide for those cute little owls you may see along the running paths (officially, Western Burrowing Owls, a species of concern). Kirtland has six distinct natural resource zones, ranging from grasslands to mountain canyons, including a wetlands area. Sometimes, our habitat might seem a little too appealing; prairie dogs for example, severely crowded out by urban and suburban development, can quickly overwhelm in a relatively undisturbed area. Certainly not a surprise to you golfers! We recently re-located a substantial prairie dog population from the base golf course to a more remote and suitable area. All of these positive elements reflecting the state of Kirtland's environment do not eliminate some significant challenges we face to ensure proper stewardship of the public resources entrusted to us. Kirtland must address the "sins from the past," such as the numerous sites on base where hazardous materials were inadvertently released to the ground decades ago and that we now need to clean up. One such example you may have heard through the local media that we are aggressively addressing is with jet fuel that has leaked to the groundwater near the main fuels yard. We have an aggressive plan to remediate this specific problem, and are working very closely with our local, city, and state counterparts. Fortunately, Kirtland has cleaned up nearly 90 percent of all contaminated sites on base, but the focus of moving forward is paramount to ensure we protect ourselves, as well as the citizens of Albuquerque, and don't repeat our predecessors' mistakes. We have great environmental resources here at Kirtland, and while there are challenges, they are not insurmountable. Whatever environmental labels apply, Kirtland is striving to move in a positive direction while balancing our critical mission requirements. So as you live and work primarily on the main base area, please be cognizant of the larger footprint that our installation affects, and how your daily actions may directly impact todays and tomorrows environmental state.