Base completes fuel plume test

  • Published
  • By by Kendahl Johnson
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  On Nov. 6, Kirtland environmental officials completed soil vapor removal testing in the bulk fuel spill area, located on the west side of the base.

In close cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department, city and county regulators, base officials conducted the test to expand the removal of fuel vapor from the ground as part of the more aggressive approach to speed remediation.

"This test marks an additional step in the accelerated cleanup process, facilitated by a close working relationship with our regulators," said Col. Tom Miller, Kirtland installation commander.

The testing is part of a cleanup process that will provide data to determine an intermediate cleanup measure and assist with developing a final remedy, said Miller.

To maximize fuel vapor removal efficiency, environmental engineers at Kirtland are testing existing wells and collecting data so they can refine the current SVE design, or possibly add a new custom unit based on the information gathered.

"We need to carefully place the unit to optimize its operation and improve efficiency," said Scott Clark, environmental engineer with the 377 Civil Engineer Division.

Thirteen wells outside the current unit's area of operation will be evaluated to determine if they are suitable for expansion of the SVE extraction area. The test data will reveal if these wells should be immediately tied in to the existing system or considered for inclusion in the design for more SVE capacity. Clark said investigating candidate wells is especially important when building a custom-engineered unit.

Data analysis is expected to be complete and provided to NMED in late December.

Kirtland began fuel vapor extraction in 2004 and installed a more powerful catalytic oxidizing SVE unit in January. Soil vapor extraction is a physical treatment process for removing of contaminants in ground soils, between the ground surface and the aquifer. The SVE's engine is powered by the fuel that is suctioned from the soil.

The fuel leak was discovered in 1999 at the site of the base bulk fuel delivery area. That system was replaced by a $12 million state-of-the-art facility, with fully observable infrastructure to prevent future spills.

The Air Force has budgeted $50 million for the remediation.