Plume remediation at Commerce & Prince
City of Clovis Public Works Committee receive presentation regarding Petroleum plume remediation at Commerce Way and Prince Street
On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, the City of Clovis Public Works Committee received a presentation from engineering firm Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, and Rene Romero, Project Manager with the NM Environment Department’s Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau, regarding remediation activities they are undertaking related to a petroleum plume at Commerce Way and Prince Street. Engineering firm Daniel B. Stephens & Associates have been hired by the New Mexico Environment Department, who are funding and overseeing the remediation. Below are some questions raised at the meeting, together with answers provided by Tom Golden with Daniel B. Stephens. A copy of the powerpoint given at the meeting can be accessed here.
The presentation given to the Public Works Committee is available here.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Question: Where is the area of contamination?
Answer: In the area of Commerce and Prince.
Question: Where did the contamination come from?
Answer: The state of New Mexico Environment Department believes it comes from an old gas station that used to be located in what is now the intersection of Commerce and Prince
Question: How and when was it found?
Answer: In 2011 Allsup’s store replaced their underground storage tank system at 21st and Prince, and the contamination was found at the site.
Question: How deep down is the contamination?
Answer: 326 feet at the intersection of Prince and Commerce.
Question: What is the speed of travel of the water in the aquifer in the impacted area?
Answer: The gradient is .003 per foot, and could travel anywhere from 1 foot per year to as much as 100 feet per year.
Question: What work will engineering firm Daniel B. Stephens conducting?
Answer: Installation of 8 wells. To look at the vertical and lateral extent of contamination in the area. Four nested wells in the source area.
Question: What is Daniel B. Stephens goal?
Answer: The goals are onsite source removal, plume containment, groundwater treatment, and balance drawdown.
Question: When will work start?
Answer: Drilling is scheduled to commence May 6, 2019. Each well will take about a week to install, so they are looking at a three month drilling program. When that is over they hope that will give them the downgrading center of contamination and they will likely start their design process in the fall.
Question: What will happen to the contaminated water that is withdrawn from the wells?
Answer: The water will be treated and utilized in the effluent reuse system.
Answer: Does EPCOR have any wells near there?
Answer: EPCORs nearest wells are at Greene Acres (which is upstream from the plume), and near Hillcrest Park. EPCOR tested the wells they felt would be down gradient of this plume and they all came back non-detect for the chemicals in question. EPCOR will continue to monitor on a regular basis.
Question: How much water will Daniel B. Stephens remove from the remediation wells?
Answer: 50 gallons per minute.
Question: Where will you dispose of the contaminated soil from the well borings?
Answer: All the soil they pull out of the ground will be containerized in mud boxes that are hauled to Roswell.
Question: When treatment is complete will you meet New Mexico Groundwater standards?
Answer: It should meet standards for BOC’s.
Question: What drilling method will Daniel B. Stephens use?
Answer: Sonic drilling method which provides the best way to have characterizable soil samples and is the best option from a waste standpoint.
Question: Who is paying for, and leading, the cleanup at Prince and Commerce?
The State of New Mexico Environment Department who has hired engineering firm Daniel B. Stephens.
Question: Does this plume have anything to do with the PFAS/PFOA plume near Cannon Air Force Base?
Answer: The plume has no relationship to groundwater contamination near Cannon Air Force Base.