SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Environment Department is asking state lawmakers for $1.2 million to study a plume of toxic chemicals seeping from two U.S. Air Force bases.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports state Environment Secretary James Kenney said the requested money would be used to investigate the plume and is “a critical first step” in knowing how to contain it.
He says the department would hire a private contractor to study the pollution if the Legislature approves the special funding request.
New Mexico regulators first issued a notice of violation to the Air Force last year for failing to address the contamination at the base near Clovis adequately. They followed up earlier this year on Holloman, saying that base had yet to respond to concerns about the pollution near Alamogordo.