Bingaman, Udall & Heinrich Gain Air Force Commitment to Accelerated Jet Fuel Cleanup in Albuquerque

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, along with Representative Martin Heinrich, have secured a commitment from a top Air Force official to accelerate cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination resulting from a jet fuel leak at Kirtland Air Force Base. To fund its stepped-up commitment, the Air Force said it is committing $15 million toward cleanup efforts this year.

The fuel leaked over several decades from storage tanks at a Kirtland Air Force Base fuel loading facility. The contamination was first detected a decade ago and cleanup efforts have been ongoing.

Bingaman, Udall and Heinrich met with Air Force Assistant Secretary Terry Yonkers late Wednesday afternoon to urge the Air Force to move more quickly to clean up the contamination. Yonkers, who is assistant secretary for installations, environment and logistics, provided his assurance that the Air Force is committed to completing a comprehensive assessment of the contamination plume and to cleaning it up on an accelerated schedule.

In turn, the lawmakers said they would work to ensure there is adequate funding to make both the accelerated assessment and cleanup possible.

"The Air Force is committed to fixing this problem. To that end, we are reprogramming additional funding this year and we are working to identify the best technology to clean up the contamination as quickly as possible," Yonkers said. "I look forward to meeting with state officials when I'm in New Mexico next week."

"The need to protect the city's water supply is of the utmost importance. In my view, the Air Force is in a position to take swifter action to clean up this jet fuel leak, and I'm very pleased it has committed to stepping up its cleanup efforts," said Bingaman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We will work to ensure the Air Force fulfills its commitment."

"Our meeting with Assistant Secretary Yonkers was constructive," said Udall. "I urged him to be aggressive in protecting the water table beneath Kirtland, and consequently the health of the Albuquerque community, and requested their timeline for doing so. The Assistant Secretary stated his intent to accelerate efforts to clean up the fuel spill and we will do our part to support those efforts."

"Safeguarding our drinking water is paramount to public health. I am pleased that the Air Force has agreed to expedite their cleanup efforts and ensure that the safety and well being of those living near the leak are not compromised," said Heinrich, a member of the House Armed Service Committee.