Pueblo’s governor criticizes work halt on plume
San Ildefonso leader says tests show water injection into site was containing toxic spread
San Ildefonso Pueblo’s governor expressed concerns about the state Environment Department’s order to halt cleanup of a mile-long toxic plume by April 1, saying suspending the measures would cause the contamination to spread to the pueblo.
Gov. Christopher Moquino said tests and sampling show injecting treated water into the decades-old hexavalent chromium plume at the Los Alamos National Laboratory site has reduced the contaminants and kept them away from the pueblo.
“Halting is a concern,” Moquino said. “We don’t see any positive effect to stop the work. That could have some type of negative effect as far as the plume moving or expanding, but that’s to be determined.”
Moquino’s view contrasts with the state Environment Department, which contends the U.S. Energy Department’s method of extracting contaminated water, treating it and pumping it back into the aquifer is not diluting or containing contaminants but is pushing them toward the pueblo and deeper into the aquifer.
Pausing the injections is necessary to slow the plume’s spread until a more effective approach can be established, the state agency has said.
In an email, agency spokesman Matt Maez wrote there are no monitoring wells to define the plume’s southern boundary abutting the pueblo and, thus, the Energy Department can’t really say it is controlling the spread or that contaminants haven’t moved off-site.
Injection wells were supposed to be installed outside the plume to contain it, but instead were put inside the contaminated area, Maez wrote. Treated water injected inside the plume will displace the contaminants and make them flow outward, he added.
“Therefore it is likely that DOE displaced a portion of the plume toward the pueblo,” Maez wrote.
Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen. If ingested in drinking water, it can harm the liver, kidneys and reproductive systems, and some research indicates consuming large amounts over a long period can cause stomach cancer.
In 2015, the pueblo’s former leader, James Mountain, wrote a letter to then-Gov. Susana Martinez, imploring her administration not to do the injections, saying there was insufficient data on the plume’s boundaries and how concentrated the chromium was.
Injecting treated water into the plume could cause unwanted migration of contaminants, including onto pueblo land, Mountain wrote, urging the state to hold off until federal teams can better pinpoint the plume’s boundaries and ensure the injections won’t adversely affect the pueblo.
The Energy Department’s Environmental Management teams moved ahead with the injections, and in a recent written statement, an agency official insisted the method was working.
“Based on the data … the hydraulic control has been working and has proven to be effective to keep the plume from migrating to Pueblo de San Ildefonso,” wrote Michael Mikolanis, who heads the environmental management field office in Los Alamos.
Crews must either continue with the current measures or the plume will migrate, Mikolanis added.
Moquino agreed with Mikolanis’ assessment — while also differing with his predecessor.
The pueblo’s environmental team regularly views test results, both on federal and tribal lands, which show the injections are shrinking the plume and diluting the contaminants in the water, he said.
Moquino questioned whether the state Environment Department considers the pueblo’s perspective when making decisions about increasing, decreasing or halting cleanup measures.
“As a pueblo, we don’t feel they’re engaged enough with us,” Moquino said.
Moquino said the pueblo has monthly meetings with federal cleanup managers but has only met sporadically with state regulators. The state often doesn’t explain its reasoning for actions such as changing how the cleanup is conducted or, in this case, why it should be suspended, he said.
“We may not agree, but we should be working hand in hand and sharing knowledge as much as we can,” Moquino said.
Maez wrote the Environment Department met with the pueblo in December and provided information on the plume. The agency also notified leaders before issuing the order to halt work, he wrote.
“We believe we have a good relationship with leadership at the pueblo and will continue to communicate and collaborate,” Maez wrote.
Moquino said he’s not taking sides and doesn’t wish to be wedged in the middle of a conflict between the state and federal agencies. He merely seeks better coordination in dealing with an enormous environmental hazard, he said.
“The state, the pueblo and the federal level [agencies] all need to be in the same room discussing these [issues] and communicating,” Moquino said.
The sprawling plume under Sandia and Mortandad canyons is the result of shoddy waste disposal before environmental regulations were established in the 1970s.
Between 1957 and 1972, lab workers dumped water from an old power plant’s cooling towers into Sandia Canyon — water that had been funneled through steel pipes laced with hexavalent chromium to prevent corrosion.
The contaminated water pooled about 1,000 feet underground in a massive plume the lab discovered in 2005.
Moquino said communication between the various parties will become vital if the plume continues to spread.
“If it’s detected on our land, that changes the whole scope and dynamic of this entire issue,” Moquino said.