Thursday, October 3, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN
Brownfield: 15 sites in corridor potential sources of pollution courthouse within the corridor, gasoline was found floating on Ground Water Quality Bureau. top of the groundwater 25 feet Contaminants discovered below the surface of the land. A during brownfield monitoring Sanborn Insurance map dating need to be cleaned up before to 1948 indicated at least the sites are redeveloped. Both 20 buried fuel tanks once pepthe new Santa Fe County courtpered the corridor. house and the Railyard were In Phase 1 of the Santa Fe built on brownfield sites that River brownfield project, the had to be assessed and remediEnvironment Department ated before construction. found 15 properties within the The downtown Santa Fe corridor, seven adjacent to the brownfield project encomcorridor and eight nearby, that passes a 13-block corridor are potential sources of past bounded on the north by East San Francisco Street and on the contamination. One of the city’s municipal drinking water wells east by Don Gaspar Avenue, is less than one-third of a mile with the southern edge beginfrom the brownfield corridor. ning at the intersection of CerReleases from old buried rillos Road and St. Francis Drive and the western boundary along petroleum tanks or other waste tanks can seep down into shalSouth St. Francis Drive. low groundwater and migrate. Over the decades, gas stations, auto-maintenance shops, Among some of the business shoe-repair shops, metal found- sites within the corridor where ries and dry cleaners have leaks and contamination were operated in the area. Some of found in the 2009 study: their activities have potentially The PKG Building south of leaked contaminants onto soil Montezuma Avenue had low or into groundwater. levels of the refrigerant dichloAs first reported in the Alburodifluoromethane, or Freon, querque Journal, monitoring detected in indoor air and soil wells will be placed around the vapor. corridor. Both soil and water Garcia Honda, about onewill be tested for petroleum fourth of a mile south of the contaminants, solvents and corridor, had a used oil storage other chemicals by a contractor, tank underground that leaked Intera, and the Environment in 1989. The tank was removed, Department. “We’ll do a pretty the soil excavated and the site exhaustive review,” Schoeppner closed in 1990. said. Former Capitol 66 (ChamThe spacing of the monitorpion Oil) at 204 Montezuma ing wells also will help deterAve. had a petroleum leak in mine where contamination could end up and how it can be 1990. The site was cleaned up, but traces of petroleum were remediated. found at an on-site well. “We’re trying to get an idea Five large gasoline storof, if the contaminants are presage tanks were removed from ent, which direction are they Washington Avenue Gulf, flowing [in groundwater],” said 201 Washington Ave., at an Alex Puglisi, the city’s environunknown date. The company mental specialist and interim was cleared of the need for fursource-of-supply manager. The monitoring wells are the ther action. Quick and Easy Gas, 631 Cersecond phase of the brownfield rillos Road, reported a release project, which started in 2009. The city, interested in rejuvenat- of fuel in 1998. Two 6,000-gallon ing the Santa Fe River and the tanks and one 8,000-gallon tank potential business opportuniwere removed from the facility. ties in the corridor, asked the The company was cleared of state Environment Department the need for further action. for funding to identify past Contact Staci Matlock at potential sources of pollution. 986-3055 or smatlock@ The need was evident. In 2009, sfnewmexican.com. Follow her as construction was underon Twitter @stacimatlock. way on the new First District
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Sues: Former official claims Martinez plans to trim authority and have been processing the reams of documents responsive The authority’s former comp- to their 13-page request,” Knell troller, Greg Campbell, later said in a statement. pleaded guilty to forgery and May was never accused of securities fraud. A state audiany wrongdoing, but the auditor’s report determined Camptor’s report said Campbell was bell acted alone and took no able to carry out the forgery money. because the authority’s managThe Finance Authority proers and governing board were vides low-cost financing for “asleep at the wheel.” May has capital projects by cities, counmaintained that Campbell lied ties, schools and other New to him and other senior staff Mexico governmental organiza- about the preparation of the tions. It operates independently audit. from any state agency and funcSince his firing, May has tions like a bank for governmen- sought to restore his reputation, tal infrastructure. and his public records request May joined the Finance was part of that effort. Authority as CEO in September May contends the Martinez 2011, after serving as secretary administration has planned of the Department of Finance to scale back or dismantle and Administration after the authority, which arranges Martinez took office. Clifford financing for public projects replaced May in the Cabinetthat otherwise could generate level position. business for private firms. “After waiting 174 days for any Administration-backed legisresponse from the governor and lation to impose state oversight DFA, we have received nothof the authority’s budget and ing but excuses,” said May’s accounting failed in the Legislalawyer, Steven Farber. “For ture earlier this year. the administration that claims The lawsuit said the failure to be the most transparent in to disclose documents prevents New Mexico history, the lack of May from determining whether transparency is outrageous. Not administration officials “played one email, text message, memo, a significant role in creating and document or even a piece of continuing a biased ‘investigapaper has been made available tive’ process” for the fraudulent for public inspection.” audit. A Department of Finance May objects that the authorand Administration official told ity’s governing board scrapped Farber in a July letter the agency his initial plan as CEO to hire had identified a large number a former federal prosecutor to of documents in response to investigate how the audit was the records request, but it could faked. take weeks or months to release The board instead decided all of them because they needed that a similar legal and accountto be reviewed by the agency’s ing probe would be handled lawyer. through the State Auditor’s “Frankly, the motivation Office. Board members mainbehind this lawsuit is suspect, tained that would ensure the independence of the review, but as we’ve been communicating May disagreed. regularly with May’s attorney
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Debt: Democrats won’t budge on health law Continued from Page A-1 Street should be concerned,” Obama said on CNBC. “When you have a situation in which a faction is willing to default on U.S. obligations, then we are in trouble.” On Capitol Hill, senior Republicans began to suggest that a broad agreement to overhaul entitlements and the tax code could be used as a resolution to both the shutdown and the debt-limit dispute. But Democrats view that approach as hostagetaking and say Congress must reopen the government and authorize additional borrowing before serious negotiations can occur. At the White House, Obama joined the Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress in a meeting that Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate minority leader, called “cordial but unproductive.” Leaders of both parties said afterward that Republican demands to defund or delay Obama’s signature health care law, which helped lead to this week’s shutdown, remain a critical obstacle to any agreement. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the president “reiterated tonight he will not negotiate.” “We’ve got divided government. Democrats control the Senate; Republicans control the House,” he said. “All we’re asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare.” But Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the president was unbending, calling him “strong, strong, strong.” He added, “One thing we made very clear in that meeting: We are locked in tight on Obamacare.” The back-and-forth Wednesday came on the second day of a partial government shutdown that has furloughed 800,000 federal workers and appears likely to remain for an extended period of time. The next crucial deadline comes Oct. 17, the last day the Treasury Department estimates that the federal government is certain to have enough money to pay all its bills. Investors have also been demanding higher interest rates for U.S. Treasury bills in recent days, a sign of concern that the federal government could have trouble servicing its debt. On Wednesday, there was growing realization on both sides of the aisle that lawmakers will likely have to deal with resolving the debt ceiling issue at the same time as the government shutdown. Some senior Republicans said they are ready to enter a more far-reaching discussion over entitlement programs, tax reform and the federal debt limit. “I think we’re at a point where we need a broader solution here to not only the [temporary funding measure] but also the debt limit,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means
Veterans visit the World War II Memorial in Washington on Wednesday. It was an act of civil disobedience to show the government shutdown would not keep veterans from visiting the monument erected in their honor. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Committee. “It’s right around the corner. I think they’re both going to have to get addressed.” House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed. “The president should start negotiating,” he said. “I’d like to just get one agreement” to reopen the government and raise the debt limit “and be done with it.” Obama and Senate Democrats have so far refused to negotiate over either issue, saying they have already agreed to locking in lower funding levels favored by the GOP and that paying the nation’s bills — which raising the debt ceiling would do — is nonnegotiable. Broader budget issues can be discussed after the government reopens and the debt limit is lifted, they said. “Once we reopen government, I propose a House-Senate joint conference to work out the nation’s long-term fiscal challenges,” Reid said. “Both sides have priorities, but we want to move forward.” The clash is starting to raise concerns in markets that the two sides will not find agreement before Oct. 17. Investors are already demanding much higher returns on U.S. Treasury bills that aren’t paid back until after that date, reflecting a higher risk assessment. In daily market-monitoring discussions with Wall Street firms on Wednesday, Treasury officials said there were new fears among investors that a deal might not be reached until the final hours — which would cause intense market volatility. A U.S. default, which has never happened before, would lead to a dramatic cut in federal spending and delays in Social
Security checks and could undermine the traditional U.S. role as a financial safe haven. “There’s precedent for a government shutdown; there is no precedent for default,” Goldman Sachs Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said Wednesday after he and several other business leaders met with Obama at the White House. “We’re the most important economy in the world. We’re the reserve currency of the world.” Both sides harbor hopes that the shutdown and the looming default deadline increase their political leverage. “It’s pretty straightforward that the shutdown is hurting Republicans and weakening their standing,” a senior Democratic aide said. But Republicans argue that the painful consequences of breaching the debt ceiling gives them more power to demand policy changes. While polls suggest Republicans are likely to be blamed for the shutdown, both parties took steps Wednesday to contain any potential damage. Republicans continued to press a piecemeal approach to funding the government, pursuing one-off bills that would fund the National Institutes of Health and other programs. Obama pledged to veto them, repeating his demand that Congress reopen the entire government. Obama took other steps to avoid attracting flak for the shutdown, including taking advantage of a loophole that would allow many veterans to visit shuttered war memorials. Obama also canceled part of a trip next week to Asia to limit the amount of time he might be abroad.
September 2013 Public Notice of a Class 3 Permit Modification Request and Public Meeting for an Open Burning Unit at Technical Area 16 Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, EPA ID No. NM0890010515 Activity:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), have requested to modify the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit via a Class 3 permit modification request. The modification requests the inclusion of an open burning hazardous waste treatment unit within the Permit.
Facility:
LANL is owned by DOE, and is operated jointly by DOE and LANS. Under authority of the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act (Section 74-4-1 et seq., NMSA 1978, as amended, 1992) and the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (20.4.1 NMAC), the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) can approve or deny hazardous waste permits and closure plans, permit modifications, and amendments.
Availability:
The proposed permit modification is available for public review weekdays between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm at NMED - Hazardous Waste Bureau 2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Building 1 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 Copies are also available at the LANL Hardcopy Public Reading Room weekdays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board Office 94 Cities of Gold Road in Pojoaque, New Mexico http://www.lanl.gov/community-environment/environmental-stewardship/public-reading-room.php Electronic copies of the permit modification request can also be found in the LANL Electronic Public Reading Room (EPRR) at http://eprr.lanl.gov. The LANL Hazardous Waste Facility Permit can be found on the NMED LANL Permit web page at: http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/HWB/Permit.htm
Meeting:
A public meeting about the permit modification request will be held from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on October 30, 2013 at Fuller Lodge, 2132 Central Ave, Los Alamos, NM.
Comments:
Any person who would like to comment on the proposed Class 3 permit modification may do so by contacting: Dave Cobrain NMED-Hazardous Waste Bureau, 2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Building 1, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505-6313 Telephone (505) 476-6000 or e-mail: dave.cobrain@state.nm.us. The Permittee’s compliance history during the life of the permit being modified is available from the NMED contact person. The 60-day public comment period for this permit modification will run from October 3, 2013 through December 2, 2013. Any person who wishes to comment on this action should submit written or e-mail comments with the commenter's name and address to the address above. Only written comments received on or before December 2, 2013, will be considered.
Facility Contact:
If you have questions, please contact Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lorrie Bonds Lopez Environmental Communication & Public Involvement P.O. Box 1663, MS M996 Los Alamos, NM 87545 Phone/email: 505-667-0216 / envoutreach@lanl.gov