We, the undersigned, join this petition to request a public hearing before the Environmental Improvement Board (EIB).

Hazardous TENORM has been dumped into a Municipal Landfill and radioactive brine has been discharged into public wastewater infrastructure

RIO RANCHO LANDFILL TIMELINE:
Sept. – Nov. 2009 – A pilot water desalination project at the briny water well site was reportedly successful, creating a concentrated radionuclide and arsenic waste stream, the basis of the TENORM.

Apr. 2011 – A final Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for future water treatment projects described the same arsenic and radionuclide waste streams as hazardous and stated for future treatments, “The precipitate will be dewatered to the minimum practicable volume, placed directly in shipping containers, and disposed of in a licensed hazardous waste landfill. The concentrated stream will not be exposed to air or soil, and the handling facilities will have appropriate secondary containment and segregation from other parts of the treatment plant.” It is clear just how dangerous the TENORM was considered. However, as stated by water treatment proponents, all waste streams for the 2009 pilot project were conveyed to a single impoundment, thereby “blending” the TENORM with the existing contaminated evaporite salt.

Oct. 2011 – NMED stated in their review of the Apr 2011 PER that an issue for any proposed water treatment facility was the need to establish an agreement with a licensed landfill facility in Andrews, TX to accept hazardous material generated at the water treatment plant. Thus, NMED has demonstrated prior knowledge of this dangerous TENORM. NMED also recognized that there wasn’t a New Mexico facility at that time licensed to accept such dangerous TENORM.

Mar. 2018 - The corporation directed the transport and disposal of 48 truckloads, equaling 288 tons, of the TENORM into the Rio Rancho landfill.This is a direct violation of the landfill permit.
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RIO RANCHO SEWER TREATMENT FACILITY TIMELINE:

June 2019 – NMED denied the corporation's request to discharge the briny groundwater (the same ground water that formed the contaminated, radioactive “salt”) at the remote Rio West ground water well location, citing the fact that the Primary Discharge Permit (DP-1682) evaluation generated “significant public interest” (SPI). NMED did state that the corporation could discharge the highly contaminated ground water off site if they submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI).

July 2019 – The corporation responded that they would not file a NOI because there would be no offsite discharge. Instead, the wastewater would be reinjected into the extraction well.

August 22, 2019 – The corporation directed the transport and disposal of at least 5,000 gallons of the radioactive wastewater into the Rio Rancho Sewer system. A water quality report was attached to the August 22, 2019 email from the corporation to the Rio Rancho POC, but the email was sent to an incorrect email address. The report listed Total Radium at 85 pCi/L and Arsenic at 64 mg/L.

Sept. 3, 2019 – In an internal email communication, NMED stated that the corporation never disclosed the wastewater contaminants, but rather only told the City and their contract POTW operators that the wastewater was “brine”

Sept. 10, 2019 – In an email to the USEPA, NMED characterized the August 22nd disposal action as “illicit” and stated that the groundwater had “historic high levels” of radium 226 & 228, arsenic, and other contaminants. NMED also stated that, once again, it was clear authorities were not made aware of the material’s contaminated nature. NMED included an Excel spreadsheet listing the wastewater was historically described with Total Radium concentrations of, again, 85 pCi/L

Serious Concerns:
There is a serious concern that NMED has refused to identify who specifically directed the landfill and sewer treatment facility disposals. The concern is that there may well be a pattern and practice of knowing and willful intent to replace ensuring public safety with an effort to save money at all costs.

There is a serious concern that NMED has arbitrarily and capriciously attempted to reduce the briny water's historic total radium concentration (85 pCi/L) by appx. 75% apparently to protect the corporation at the expense of public safety. Using data in use at the time, the total radium soil concentration was appx. 7.05 pCi/G, well above the EPA maximum level of 5 pCi/G.

An issue with the sewer treatment facility is that NMED never addressed public hazards – were facility workers exposed to carcinogens during the course of their duties? Also, what was the final disposition of the radium & arsenic? Where did it end up; in the outfall into the Rio Grande? In the “cake” & to the landfill? Either would be a serious violation.

Landfill disposal: Was it exposed to a wind dispersal vector and also eventually buried where it would leach to the landfill liner, extracted in the leachate and redistributed onto the ground surface (the landfill sprays the leachate on the ground for “dust control”).

Impacted citizens do not feel the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has demonstrated the will to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. Therefore, as outlined above, we are requesting the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) to convene an investigative public hearing, as expeditiously as possible, to resolve ongoing serious and immediate environmental, health and safety, and regulatory issues.

Signed