Contaminated dirt removed from bulk fuel facility

  • Published
  • By Lee Ross
  • Nucleus editor
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Tons of soil were excavated from the bulk fuels facility at Kirtland on Aug. 7 as part of a effort to remediate the fuel plume.

Some 1,700 cubic yards of soil will be removed from an old fuel loading station in the area where an underground leak was discovered.

The work is expected to be completed in mid-September.

Over the past several years, soil from the area of the spill has been tested for its level of total petroleum hydrocarbons, according to Scott Clark, an Air Force Civil Engineer Center environmental engineer. The site of the original leak is where the fuel was previously offloaded into underground piping on the west side of the base.

"Any soil with 1,000 parts per million or greater of TPH will be removed for proper disposal at a specially-permitted soil remediation site in Valencia County in accordance with the Resource Conservation Recovery Act," Clark said.

The soil excavation project is just one of several interim remediation measures being executed with the New Mexico Environmental Department's oversight, he said.

Soil is being removed in 10-by- 20-foot sections, with samples taken from the sidewalls and bottom of each hole to confirm that any remaining soil is below the contamination limits. Once the excavation is complete, the hole will be backfilled with clean soil and compacted.

Fuel product was found in the groundwater in January 2007. The base fuel handling and storage facility was completely rebuilt in 2011 and now has fully visible above-ground piping and electronic fuel tracking equipment.

The Air Force's efforts to remediate the fuel spill, including this excavation, are directed by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and administered by the New Mexico Environment Department. All Air Force cleanup proposals must be rigorously reviewed and approved by NMED before any actions can take place.