Water Quality
BDD Asks LANL to Ensure Water Quality
In November 2007, the BDD Board sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and LANL asking them to take and fund actions to address LANL-origin contaminants in storm water runoff that flows down Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons to the Rio Grande, thereby contaminating the BDD Project’s raw water supply.
Specific requests include providing an early notification system that the BDD Project will rely on (a) to stop diversions from the Rio Grande when storm water that may contain LANL-origin contaminants from Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons is flowing to the Rio Grande; and (b) to resume diversion when the contaminated flows have passed. The BDD Board also has asked LANL to prevent migration of contaminants in storm water and properly monitor the contaminant flows that do occur.
In March 2009, the BDD sent a second letter asking the federal agency that oversees LANL, the U.S. Department of Energy, to consider entering negotiations with the BDD on the remaining, uncompleted action steps. The Department agreed, and negotiations resumed in the Spring of 2009.
In March 2009, the Legislature passed House Memorial 120, requesting a Memorandum of Understanding to address contamination emanating from LANL so the BDD Project could ensure safe drinking water to its customers.
In October 2009, the BDD Board sent a letter again requesting a Memorandum of Understanding that remained unaddressed with the BDD Project describing the DOE and LANL commitments with regard to the six action steps, along with an update on the status of the six action steps as of September 2009.
In January 2010, the BDD Board sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Energy requesting assistance and intervention related to the delay of a Memorandum of Agreement for the early warning notification system, LANL data sharing and gauge maintenance.
In January 2010, the Legislature introduced House Memorial 21 to address the same concerns and issues, including a specific timeline for reporting progress on the Memorandum of Agreement.
In February 2010, the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy responded directing LANL to formally initiate discussions regarding the scope of the Memorandum of Agreement and to establish a schedule for completion of discussions.
- The formal Memorandum of Agreement has multiple goals and would formally set forth specific commitments including cost sharing, operation responsibilities, maintenance, sample testing and a completion schedule for an early warning system. These terms would be contained in an agreement, or contract, and would contain provisions for non-performance.
BDD Project Board and Staff are continuing to work with DOE/LANL, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to develop mutually satisfactory responses to the BDD Board’s request for DOE/LANL actions.
BDD Board Asks LANL to Take Six Specific Action Steps – Update
As of September 2009, an update on the current status of these action steps is as follows:
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1. Stop migration of LANL contaminants to the Rio Grande and to groundwater through the construction of additional sediment barrier and containment systems, improved waste treatment and disposal practices, stabilization and cleanup of sediment beds and banks in the Rio Grande tributary canyons that have received LANL waste discharges, and other appropriate management actions. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), under applicable federal and state law, has ordered DOE to implement numerous improvements to reduce contaminated storm water runoff to the Rio Grande, before the BDD begins operations. Similar Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements are not yet in place. The EPA has stayed the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit requirements, since they are under an appeal that seeks to make the requirements more stringent. As enacted or underway, both agencies’ requirements include performance monitoring and subsequent preventive actions where additional monitoring indicates additional steps are necessary to meet explicit and stringent limitations. These regulatory requirements satisfy the BDD Board’s request for actions to stop the migration of contaminants. No significant actions have yet resulted from this request with regard to the groundwater pathway. However, that has been a major focus of the NMED Consent order. |
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2. Properly monitor the transport of legacy contaminants (contaminants from the 1940s-1960s) in both the surface water and groundwater flow systems, including implementation of all recommendations contained in a report entitled “Plans and Practices for Groundwater Protection at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Final Report (2007),” published by the National Academy of Sciences with especially high priority placed on improvements in monitoring the transport of contaminants in the regional groundwater flow toward the Buckman well field and implementation of the recommendations addressing surface water and transport of contaminants from LANL property. Monitoring is a major component of the regulatory requirements described under Action Step 1 and the Early Notification System, Action Step 4. LANL also has undertaken significant voluntary monitoring for a comprehensive group of contaminants from paired samples collected six times a year at Otowi Bridge, which is upstream from the mouths of canyons that drain LANL, and at the Buckman Diversion site. NMED’s DOE Oversight Bureau is conducting a sampling program in summer 2009 to collect samples from the Rio Grande at five locations when stormy weather has caused runoff to the Rio Grande. NMED also is conducting an infrequent but routine water quality survey of the northern Rio Grande. NMED is collecting an extra gallon of water for each mainstem Rio Grande sample. NMED will analyze for the radionuclide screening parameters “gross alpha” and “gross beta.” If either of these screens is elevated, the BDD Project has indicated it will pay for additional specific radionuclide analyses. In the aggregate, these different monitoring programs adequately address the BDD Board’s requested action to “properly monitor” transport of contaminants in surface water. Additionally, LANL has orally indicated its interest in evaluating existing monitoring wells in the immediate vicinity of the Rio Grande and the western area of the Buckman well field. Intensive water level monitoring of different wells in conjunction with Los Alamos County and Buckman well fields pumping may provide additional knowledge of the complex hydrogeologic groundwater flow system linking LANL, the Rio Grande, and the Buckman wells. Representatives of LANL have met with the BDD Board and City of Santa Fe Water Division Staff to discuss strategies for technical plans for storm water quality monitoring in Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons. LANL is required to submit a storm water quality monitoring plan to the NMED under the Consent Order. Representatives of LANL have also met with City of Santa Fe Water Division staff regarding use of existing infrastructure at the Buckman well field to gain additional knowledge of the groundwater flow system. None of the river samples collected to date by NMED as part of their comprehensive Upper Rio Grande monitoring program have exceeded the screening level for radionuclides that would trigger additional analyses paid for by the BDD Project Board. |
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3. Measure the radioactive and toxic contamination of buried sediments containing higher concentrations of post World War II LANL legacy contaminants now buried in the slough (side channel) upstream of the BDD diversion site to determine whether the BDD, as currently aligned, will intersect areas with elevated concentrations of these contaminants and help the BDD determine if minor realignment of project facilities could avoid these areas. NMED and the BDD Board designed, funded and completed this work in 2008. The U.S. Forest Service, which required this work, approved it. For more information, visit Core Sampling Study. |
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4. Provide an early notification system so the BDD can temporarily stop diversions of any water from the Rio Grande when the Rio Grande is expected to contain elevated levels of contaminants of LANL origin. As the result of negotiations held in March 2009, LANL and BDD Board representatives have agreed that LANL will rebuild three stream gages in Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons, and transmit the information to the BDD Project control room in near-real-time. LANL, in cooperation with the BDD Project Manager, has secured the written permission of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso to rebuild the LANL gage at the mouth of Los Alamos Canyon. LANL plans to reconstruct the gages on Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons above their confluence, although construction has not yet started. LANL will also install automatic samplers that will collect samples at times of storm water runoff flow at these gages and will perform analyses of contaminants. The BDD Project Manager has asked DOE/LANL to provide additional features for the early notification system. These remain in negotiation. Nonetheless, the agreements to date represent a significant step toward completion of the Early Notification System. Design is ongoing. Representatives of LANL have stated that their goal is to complete the Early Notification System design, construction and communications by October 31, 2009; however, no discussions have been held regarding the additional Early Notification System features requested by BDD Board and Staff. |
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5. Monitor LANL Contaminants in BDD Diversions, Sand Return, Residuals, and Drinking Water. DOE/LANL and BDD Project Representatives discussed this requested action during reinvigorated negotiations held in spring 2009. BDD Project representatives offered the alternate, simpler request per the title above and explained that these analyses would not be required or needed but for LANL historical waste discharges. One to two years of initial monitoring is required for quality assurance, safe drinking water compliance, and public confidence. DOE and LANL have not yet made any commitment regarding this requested action. BDD Project Representatives have compiled a detailed description of the needed monitoring. |
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6. Provide funding for the BDD Board to retain independent peer review by qualified persons with regard to matters of LANL-origin contamination of the public drinking water resources of Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe. DOE/LANL and BDD Project representatives have reached agreement on the scope of services for an Independent Peer Review for the BDD Board, as set forth in a request for proposals issued by the City of Santa Fe for the BDD Board. The RFP was advertised in summer 2009, with proposals due in September 2009. DOE/LANL will have no further role in the BDD Board’s selection of or contract with the Independent Peer Reviewer. In September 2009, the BDD Board received a $200,000 DOE grant to fund the independent peer review work. Three proposals were received and the BDD Project Board approved a $200,000 contract with ChemRisk, LLC to provide an “efficient, effective, and transparent” independent peer review. More information is available in the next section, Independent Peer Reviewer. |
The BDD Board and Staff will continue working with LANL and the NMED on these issues and will provide updates as the status of these action steps changes.
N.M. House Memorial and BDD Board Chair Statement
On March 18, 2009, the New Mexico House of Representatives Energy and Natural Resource Committee unanimously passed a Memorial sponsored by Representative Brian Egolf urging the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy to work actively with the Buckman Direct Diversion Board and the Los Alamos National Laboratory to ensure the safety of Santa Fe’s drinking water. BDD Board Chair Virginia Vigil issued comments on the Memorial.