The state of New Mexico is located in the southwestern part of the United States, with our good neighbors to the east...the state of Texas; our good neighbors to the north...the state of Colorado; our good neighbors to the west...the state of Arizona; and our good neighbors to the south...the country of Mexico. 

The city of Albuquerque is a one-horse town of about 500,000 in population...including the horse.  The city is divided into quandrants by I-40 running east and west; and by I-25 running north and south.

Of the four quandrants dividing Albuquerque, I would say that the most densley populated is the southeast quandrant, because this is where the three military bases are located.  Also, located in this quandrant is the airport; the University of New Mexico with 28,000 students; the CNM Community College with 26, 000 students and two hospitals and the VA Medical Center. 

This is where it began over a decade ago...the so-called jet-fuel spill located at Kirtland Air Force Base, which is located just a mile from where I live...about a 10 minute walk. This has been a 10 year fight between the Environment Department of the state of New Mexico vs. the Air Force to get this mess cleaned up before it contaminates the groundwater in the southeast heights and elswhere. 

Bill Richardson was the governor for eight years, so we had a new governor elected in the November elections.  Those of us living in this southeast quandrant of the city, and involved in this matter, have been interested for months as to what the new governor would do, and the position she would take, etc.   Well...we wait no longer, as the new governor made it clear...where she stood in this matter...as this jet-fuel spill  puts the residents of the area at risk. 

The following newspaper article was written by a staff writer (Sean Olson)  of the Albuquerque Journal, and the piece was published on June 11, 2011.  The article reads;

"Gov: Better Relationship With Kirtland; Jet Fuel Cleanup Efforts Praised

Governor Susana Martinez on Friday (June 11, 2011) praised the Air Force for its recent efforts to clean up the contamination of a massive Kirtland Air Force base jet fuel leak and signaled a kinder, bentler approach from the New Mexico Environment Department in dealing with the underground plume.

Observers warn, however, that a hands-off approach by the state has warranted little progress in the past!

In a letter to Air Force assistant Secretary Terry Yonkers, Martinez blamed 'previous leadership' in New Mexico for a poor working relationship with the Air Force.  She said the Air Force's current plans, including drilling 35 wells to get a better idea of the plumes dimensions and taking a more active approach to pumping out the jet fuel, and the correct approaches to dealing with the issue.

"That is why I applaud your performance-based remediation approach that allows for the most effective cleanup in the shortest time frame," Martinez wrote.  Col. Robert Maness, Kirtland Air Force Base commander, said in a statement Friday (6-10-11) that the working relationship between the state and the base had improved since Martinez took office in January.

"Both the Governor and (NMED) Secretary David Martin have committed to work with us in a very collaborative and positive manner.  We are all focused on the same objective: Cleaning up the fuel contamination as quickly as possible to ensure that the people of Albuquerque continue to have safe drinking water," Maness said.

Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center said a more congenial NMED relationship with Kirtland will be effective as long as the agency doesn't allow the Air Force slack in its clean-up responsibilites.  A more hands-off approach from the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson, until the last year of his second term, did little to epedite cleanup efforts, Hancock said.

"I think the proof will be in the pudding as to whether the state is going to put requirements on Kirtland and watchdog what they are doing," he said.  In an April 2010 letter, NMED officials accused the Air Force of dragging their feet on 'a significant threat to human health and the environment."  It was the first time the agency put significant public pressure on Kirtland's efforts. 

Since then, the Air Force has ramped up its cleanup methods allocating $50 million for the 35 wells to determine the plume size and 78 other monitoring wells, which will help them determine a long-term plan by October 2014. 

The Air Force learned of a leaky pipe in Kirtland's jet fuel leading facitliy in 1999.  The small leak in the pipe is estimated to have been allowing jet fuel to leak into the soil for decades, releasing as much as 8 million gallons of fuel into the ground.  In the past several months, new wells have shown that fuel-related chemicals are present outside the area officials have estivated the plume to exist, including at depths where drinking water wells pump groundwater.  Although officials maintain that other factors could cause the chemicals to be present, experts say the most likely explanation is tha plume has spread farther than once believed.  None of the chemicals detacted have been found in large enough quantities to be harmful." 

END OF ARTICLE...

My two-cents (comments/opinions) 

Let's look at a few facts in this matter;

It's going to cost the U.S. taxpayer's over $200 million dollars to clean up this mess...and this gets praise from the governor?

This disgrace has been going on for over a decade..as the Air Force continues to drag its feet...putting the area residents at risk...and this gets praise from the governor?

If Susana Martinez lived where I live...only a mile from ground zero, I think she would have a different perspective and attitude about the issue.  But, she lives in her ivory tower, in Santa Fe, N.M. which is about 60 miles away.  It's easy to give praise, on a disgrace that's been going on for over TEN years...when you live 60 miles away from the threat...

The people of New Mexico didn't hire Susana Martinez to be a Monday-morning quarterback, calling the shots from her ivory tower in Santa Fe.  The people of New Mexico hired Susana to get after the tough issues, after all, she was a District Attorney before she became governor.  Sounds to me, like she has quickly become a 'puppet of the government!' 

For those who want to share their experiences and expertise, can contact me;
Jerry Aragon; humordoctormd.gmail.com

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