From the July 7, 2005 issue of the SUN
By Michael Gisick
SUN Staff Writer
During a series of public meetings this month, federal and state officials laid out their plans for the the first phase of the federally-funded clean-up of a toxic plume stretching from North Railroad Avenue to the Rio Grande
Española and Santa Clara Pueblo residents who attended a pair of hearings June 29 expressed a few concerns, but said they were glad the project was moving forward.
Daniel Valerio, an Alcalde resident who attended the Española meeting, said his cousins who grew up near Norge Town had developed unusual allergies and would sometimes get rashes on their hands after playing in their yards.
Phil Lucero, who lives across the street from the dry cleaning business, said he worried about future funding for the clean-up.
The current $3.6 million budget will cover only the construction phase, New Mexico Environment Department Project Manager Steve Jetter said. Future operations and maintenance will require additional money.
"It seems like the priorities of the country are shifting to a time of war," Lucero said. "We're talking about fixing up a situation in a little town. The reality is, all our bucks are going overseas. If this doesn't get funding in the future, is it just going to die?"
Environmental officials have said steep cuts to the Superfund budget by the Bush administration hampered efforts to fund the clean-up. The Norge Town site was added to the Superfund list in 1999, but did not receive funding until this year.
But Jetter said he believed the $3.6 million investment would serve as a guarantee for future funding.
"It wouldn't make much sense to do the construction and then not fund the later stages," he said. "Those stages will be considerably less expensive."
Petra Sanchez, a project manager for the Superfund division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said she appreciated Lucero's point but believed the agency would see the project through.
"We all realize there's a war and a scarcity of funds," she said. "But this project will continue to be a priority for the EPA."
At Santa Clara, former Governor Edwin Tafoya said the Pueblo government's main concerns was the Rio Grande. While they were concerned about the plume entering the river, he said, they also wanted to ensure that by-products of the treatment process did not harm the river's water quality.
Jetter said some water involved in the clean-up would be passed through Española's wastewater treatment plant and into the river. However, he said that water would be treated and tested before it even reached the wastewater plant, and would not present a problem.
Jetter thanked the Pueblo for allowing the project to go ahead partly on tribal land, and for the Pueblo's help in securing the funds.
"The governors office is glad this clean-up is taking place," Tafoya responded. "I'm pretty sure the citizens of the Pueblo are also welcoming this."
