NM Environment Dept. holds meeting about cleaning up contaminated ground water

The New Mexico Environment Department is holding a public hearing today on the Doa Ana Dairies’ Stage 2 Abatement Plan proposal to remediate ground water contamination.

The meeting started Wednesday morning.

The dairies are a consortium of 11 dairies located along I-10 between the towns of Mesquite and Anthony in Doa Ana County.

The New Mexico Environment Department says the ground water is contaminated with nitrate-nitrogen, chloride, and total dissolved solids above state standards in shallow ground water beneath and beyond the dairy boundaries as a primary result of past dairy wastewater discharges to lagoons and crops.

The Stage 2 Abatement Plan proposal consists of:

1) mitigating contaminant sources via synthetic liners at wastewater ponds and removal of solids; 2) monitored natural attenuation of the contaminant plumes;

3) evaluation of the effectiveness of monitored natural attenuation.