<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">dave mccoy <<a href="mailto:dave@radfreenm.org" class="">dave@radfreenm.org</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">Fwd: SWM Alarming Water Authority Report: KAFB Contamination Greater than Reported by AF</b><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">March 12, 2020 at 5:21:46 PM PDT<br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="word-wrap:break-word;line-break:after-white-space" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b class=""><u class=""><font color="#ff4013" size="5" class="">Albuquerque Water Authority Finds </font></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b class=""><u class=""><font color="#ff4013" size="5" class="">Greater Contamination than in Air
Force Report</font></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Citizen Action New Mexico has obtained a January 2020 Albuquerque
Water Authority technical memo that questions the conclusions in an Air Force (AF)
report that there is “significant reduction” of jet fuel contamination between
the ground surface and the groundwater (the vadose zone). Among the Water Authority conclusions are that
“fuel related compounds such as xylenes, EDB and ethylbenzene were detected
above the reporting limit at KAFB [monitoring well] 106S9, indicating a much
broader presence of fuel-related contamination than what is concluded in the
Report.” </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Water Authority memo identifies serious problems with the
AF collection of sampling data. The Water Authority states there are “likely
biases … towards lower/reduced concentrations of fuel contaminants at the
site.” Estimates of the Kirtland AFB jet fuel spill range from 6 to 24 million
gallons. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The AF reported its findings in a source area
characterization report that was supposed to resolve data gaps about the extent
and concentration levels of fuel contamination necessary to develop a
conceptual model to guide future remediation work. The information was to come from soil corings
drilled at various locations and depths.
The source area where the jet fuel spill occurred is particularly
problematic because without cleanup it <i class="">can
continue releasing highly toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and ethylene
dibromide (EDB) </i>to Albuquerque’s drinking water aquifer. No approved plan for the cleanup of the
source material exists. </p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">The AF did
not follow the New Mexico Environment Department’s work plan for the
investigation. </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>The Air Force obtained biased lower readings for
soil contamination because it allowed soil core temperatures to be too high from
drilling speed vibration. </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>Laboratory reports documented concerns they
couldn’t quantify contamination because some corings were held too long before sampling.
</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>Field sampling of the cores was not performed by
a mandatory technique using a photoionization detector (PID). Instead the AF used Ultraviolet (UV) screening
that was not approved. </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>The AF ignored sample data that showed
contamination was above the required reporting limits. </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>Some higher sample contamination levels were skipped
while lower sample results were instead presented. </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The memo found a “Lack of consistent
sampling depth across the boring locations thus requiring data interpolation
and modeling instead of soil characterization data that was intended to fill
the source area characterization data gap.”
</p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>Decreased concentration claimed for off-base
areas are not supported by statistical data.</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt" class="">The AF claimed remediation by natural processes
but microbial analyses of the core samples were not reported.</span></div>
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b class=""><font color="#ff4013" class=""><u class="">The
Water Authority memo concludes with the following concerns</u>:</font></b></p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">“Failure to
delineate the extent of the remaining fuel contamination could result in a
persistent source to groundwater and
increase the amount of time it will take to clean-up the impacted groundwater
source.” </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>Data collected and summarized in the Report does
not address outstanding source data gaps.</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>The Report “lacks the robust analysis to
revise/update the source area conceptual model.”</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>A statistical analysis of concentration trends
is imperative.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Using reduced concentrations and
flawed data about the extent of contamination lead to erroneous conclusions about
remediation. The AF findings are
compromised because of the: </p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>biased data towards lower/reduced concentrations
of fuel contaminants at the site</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>use of data reported that was outside core
holding times and core temperatures that were too high </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>use of a limit of detection (LOD) greater than
reported results. </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>lack of consistent sampling across depth
intervals </div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-family:Symbol" class="">·<span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:"Times New Roman"" class="">
</span></span>failure to collect core samples in accordance
with photoionization (PID) recommendations</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><font color="#ff4013" class="">The Water
Authority memo recommends that NMED and the AF should review the entirety of
the laboratory reports to understand the scope of the data quality problems. </font></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><font color="#ff4013" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><font color="#ff4013" class="">As of this writing, neither NMED nor the AF
have responded to the Water Authority Technical Memo alleged erroneous findings.</font> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </p><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">March 12,
2020</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">Dave McCoy,
J.D., Executive Director</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">Citizen
Action New Mexico</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class="">(818)
448-9981</div><div style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:-webkit-system-font,"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,sans-serif" class=""><b class=""> </b></span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:-webkit-system-font,"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,sans-serif" class="">dave mccoy <<a href="mailto:dave@radfreenm.org" target="_blank" class="">dave@radfreenm.org</a>></span></div></div></div></div></div> -<br class=""></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""><div class="">
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