It is has been reported that a massive amount of highly toxic jet fuel has been leaking into the ground at Kirtland Airforce Base (KAFB) in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the last thirty years. Initial estimates put the total leak at 1-2 million gallons. However, The New Mexico Environment Department has put the figure at closer to 8 million gallons. Unfortunately, if spills like the BP's Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico are any indication, even these higher figures may understate the true level of contamination. The leak was detected in 1999, and since then various efforts have been made to secure funding to help clean up the mess. Approaches, including the drilling of as many as 23 wells, and pump have been used with some degree of success, as this article reports.

It appears that fuel has sunk as deep as 500 feet underground, which threatens the water table, and could potentially migrate into the Rio Grande River, which is one of the most important sources of water for the Albuquerque, and the state of New Mexico. Recently, as this article reports, as much as $15 million was appropriated to perform soil remediation. It is not clear that this will be an adequate amount of money, however, given the size of the spill, and the urgency to prevent the contamination of the aquifer. As recently as July 7th of this year Kirtland was required to provide final proposals to the New Mexico Environment Department to detail the status of cleanup efforts and future planning.

Unfortunately, since cleanup efforts alone have dragged on for more than a decade, many member of the community have become disenchanted and skeptical about the status of efforts. Many are not convinced that enough is being done, quickly enough to address the potential ramifications. Underground water supplies are precious enough in a desert environment, but this spill has the potential to compromise both the aquifer, and the surface water in the river itself. Communities on the Westside, not to mention new planned communities, such as Mesa del Sol, near Kirtland, may both find their ability to function and develop effectively stifled if wells have to be shut down.

It also occurs to many that, perhaps there is a need for less toxic ways to power aircraft in the future. Unfortunately, that will do nothing to fix the current problem. However, as this study, just published today indicates, research on biofuels for jets has come a long way, groups like Climate Solutions in Seattle are working with commercial airlines right now to insure that sustainable biofuels can be available for aviation in the near future. Because these fuels tend to be less toxic, this may prevent further incidents, like the one at Kirtland, from threatening the water supplies of cities in the future.