New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources



Open-Report 245

New Mexico Bureau of Geology (Mines)

and Mineral Resources

New Mexico Tech

801 Leroy Place

Socorro, NM 87801-4796

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY OF THE

KEERS ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. ASBESTOS DISPOSAL SITE,

TORRANCE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

ADDENDUM OF APRIL 2007 TO REPORT OF JULY 1986

John W. Hawley, Ph.D.

Emeritus Senior Environmental Geologist

New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

Summary of Original Open-File Report 245, with Bibliography

July 1986

Geologic, hydrologic, and soils conditions at the Keers Environmental, Inc. [KEI] Asbestos Disposal Site in Torrance County [NM] have been reviewed as part of the Environmental Geology program of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Tech, Socorro.

The sanitary landfill operation for asbestos disposal is located in the north part of Sections 19 and 20, T. 2 N., R. 8 E. in southern Torrance county about 10 miles southeast of Mountainair (Figs. 1-3). The site is on the summit of the “West Mesa” area of northern Chupadera Mesa. This high plateau surface, with rolling to hilly topography and numerous closed depressions, in underlain by a thick (about 1,500 ft) sequence of interbedded sandstone, siltstone, shale, gypsum, and limestone of the Permian Yeso, Glorieta, and San Andres Formations (Fig. 4). Resistant San Andres limestone, with interbedded gypsum and sandstone, caps the mesa. A north-south-trending zone of structural deformation, faulted or folded down to the east, is located east of the [KEI] site (Fig. 5). This feature, here called the Monte Prieto-Liberty Hill structural zone, includes a number of igneous dikes and sills.

The regional water table (top of the zone of ground-water saturation) occurs in the Glorieta Sandstone and [underlying] gypsiferous Yeso Formation about 500 feet below the mesa surface at the [KEI] disposal site. Bodies of “perched” ground water have been reposted by local residents above the regional zone of saturation, but these local ground-water occurrences are not documented in the literature on the hydrogeology of the area. Cavernous voids and open fractures occur both above and below the water table in the Chupadera Mesa area. Solution-subsidence depressions are very common at the land surface and are present at the disposal site. The site appears to be located just south of the divide that separates regional ground-water flow systems with discharge areas in Estancia Valley (to the north) and Tularosa Basin (to the south). Surface water discharge at the site is into several closed depressions on the summit of West [Chupadera] Mesa (including Brown Lake). Additional work is needed to better document ground-water and surface-water conditions in the disposal site area, particularly along the Monte Prieto-Liberty Hill structural trend.

Soils at the [KEI] site are developed in a thin layer of unconsolidated geologic materials (mostly mixtures of fine sand, silt, and clay) that cover bedrock of the San Andres Formation. Surficial deposits are probably no more than 10 to 15 feet thick. Pedogenic soil profiles developed in the upper 5 to 6 feet of these deposits are characterized by well-developed horizons clay and carbonate (caliche) accumulation. Surface horizons enriched in organic matter are [also] locally present. The published U.S. Soil [Natural Resource] Conservation Service (USDA) Soil Survey [of] the Torrance County area clearly demonstrates the fact that soils at the Asbestos Disposal Site have major limitations in terms of providing a suitable capping material for waste-disposal trenches. The soils are susceptible to wind (and water) erosion and difficult to revegetate. Clay-enriched horizons in most soils of the site also have high shrink-swell potential (and cracking) potential as soil-moisture contents decrease and increase.

The final section of the report reviews recent research at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on the design of trench covers for waste repositories in areas with surface conditions (climate, vegetation, and soils) that are very similar to those at the Chupadera (West) Mesa site. Furthermore LANL research on trench covers shows that they can be quite vulnerable to serious disturbance [by] burrowing animals and plant roots. It is here suggested that the soil/gravel/cobble (soil/rock) intrusion barrier technology developed at Los Alamos be used in trench covers at the Keers Asbestos Disposal operation. Otherwise long term [safe] burial (more than a few decades) of hazardous material in the landfill cannot be assured.

Bibliography

References on General and Environmental Geology

Bates, R. L., Wilpolt, R.H., MacAlpin, A.J., and Vorbe, G., 1947, Geology of the Gran Quivira Quadrangle, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin 26, 57 p.

Foster, R.W., and Stipp, T.F., 1961, Preliminary geologic and relief map of the Precambrian rocks of New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Circular 57, 37 p.

Hawley, J.W., 1984, The Ogallala Formation in eastern New Mexico, in Whetstone, G. A., ed., Proceedings, Ogallala Aquifer Symposium II: Lubbock, Texas Tech University Water Resources Center, p. 157-176.

Hawley, J.W. and Love, D.W., 1981, Overview of geology as related to environmental concerns in New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Special Publication No 10, p. 1-10.

Hunter, J.C., and Ingersoll, R.V., 1981, Cañas Gypsum Member of the Yeso Formation (Permian) in New Mexico: New Mexico Geology, v. 3, no. 4, p.49-53.

Machette, M.N., 1978b, Preliminary geologic map of the Socorro 1° by 2° quadrangle, central New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 78-607, scale 1:250,000.

Wilpolt, R.H., MacAlpin, A.J., Bates, R.L., and Vorbe, G., 1946, Geologic map and stratigraphic sections of Paleozoic rocks of the Joyita Hills, Los Pinos Mountains, and northern Chupadera Mesa, Valencia, Torrance, and Socorro Counties, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Preliminary Map 61, scale 1:62,500.

Woodward, L. A., Callender, J. F., Seager, W. R., Chapin, C. E., Gries, J. C., Schaffer, W. L. and Zilinski, R. E., 1978, Tectonic map of the Rio Grande rift region in New Mexico, Chihuahua, and Texas: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Circular 163, Sheet 2, scale approx. 1:1,000,000.

References on Hydrology and Hydrogeology

Bedinger, M. S., Sargent, K. A. and others, 1989, Studies of geology and hydrology in the Basin and Range province, southwestern United States, for isolation of high-level radioactive waste; Basis for characterization and evaluation: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1370-A, 41 p. [Replaces Bedinger et al., 1984a, USGS Open-File Report 84-738]

Bedinger, M. S., Sargent, K. A. and Langer, W. H., 1989, Studies of geology and hydrology in the Basin and Range province, southwestern United States, for isolation of high-level radioactive waste: Characterization of the Rio Grande region, New Mexico and Texas: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1370-C, 42 p. [Replaces Bedinger et al., 1984b, USGS Open-File Report 84-740]

Brady, B. T., Mulvihill, D. A., Hart, D. L. and Langer, W. H., 1984, Maps showing ground-water levels, springs and depth to ground water, Basin and Range province, New Mexico: U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 83-4118-B, scale 1:500,000.

Jenkins, D.N., 1982, Geohydrology of the Madera Group, western Estancia Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 44th Field Conference, p. 361-366.

Smith, R.E., 1957, Geology and ground-water resources of Torrance County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Ground-Water Report 5, 186 p.

Thompson, T.H., Chappell, and Hart, D. L., 1984, Maps showing distribution of dissolved solids and dominant chemical type in ground water, Basin and Range province, New Mexico: U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 83-4118-C, scale 1:500,000.

Titus, F. B., 1973, Hydrogeologic evolution of Estancia Valley, a closed basin in central New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Open-file Report 69, 184 p.

Titus, F.B., Jr., 1980, Ground water in the Sandia and northern Manzano Mountains, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Hydrologic Report 5, 66 p.

Soils

Bourlier, B.G., Neher, R.E., Crezee, D.B., Bowman, K.J., and Meister, D.W., 1970, Soil Survey of Torrance area, New Mexico: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 149p.

Gile, L.H., Hawley, J.W. and Grossman, R.B., 1981, Soils and geomorphology in the Basin Range area of southern New Mexico--guidebook to the Desert Project: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Memoir 39, 222 p.

Trench Covers, and Biointrusion and Capillary Barriers

Hakonson, T.E., 1986, Evaluation of geologic materials to limit biological intrusion into low-level radioactive waste disposal sites: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Publication LA-10286-MS, 91 p.

Hakonson, T.E., Martinez, J.L., and White, C.G., 1982, Disturbance of a low-level waste burial site cover by pocket gophers: Heath Physics, v. 42, no. 6, p. 868-871.

Hakonson, T.E., Lane, L.J., Steger, J.G., and DePoorter, G.L., 1982, Some interactive factors affecting trench cover integrity on low-level wastes, in Yalcintas, M.G. (compiler), Symposium on low-level waste disposal: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NUREG/CP0028, CONF-820674, Proceedings Volume 2.

Nyhan, J.W., Abeele, W., Hakonson, T.E., and Lopez, E.A., 1986, Technology development for the design of waste repositories at arid sites: field studies of Biointrusion and capillary barriers: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Publication LA-10574-MS, 50 p.

Addendum to Open-File Report 245, with Bibliography

April 2007

Introduction 

Preliminary documentation of geologic, hydrologic, and soils conditions at the Keers Environmental, Inc. [KEI] Asbestos Disposal Site in southern Torrance County was initially presented in NM Bureau of Geology [Mines] & Mineral Resources Open-File Report 245 (Hawley, 1986). The report was prepared at the request of Dr. Denise Fort, then Director of the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Division (now New Mexico Environment Department). While the presence of karst* features and related bedrock (gypsum and limestone) dissolution processes at the KEI site were noted, their significance in terms of site permitting and operations was not emphasized because pertinent regulations were still in the state of development. The original document also included a discussion of the suitability, or lack thereof, of local surficial deposits and soils as sources of capping material that would allow long-term protection of disposal-cell contents from wind erosion and bio-intrusion (e.g. Hakonson et al. 1992). Since these factors are not of major concern with respect to current regulations on asbestos-waste disposal, emphasis of this addendum is on aspects of site permitting and management that relate to 1) solution-subsidence (karst) processes and landforms, and 2) general long-term geomorphic stability of parts of the site that have been or will be used for waste burial. The following discussion is also based on 1) some additional field work in the KEI site area (mainly in December 1988), 2) ongoing review of pertinent publications, and 3) continued development of criteria for disposal-site characterization and selection (e.g. Hawley and Longmire, 1992).

*Definitions of “karst” and “karstification (karst-forming)” processes in footnote

Significance of Karst Features and Processes

The presence of karst features (solution-subsidence depressions) in the general area of the KEI Asbestos-Waste Disposal site is well documented. As noted in the original report, the most extensive karst depressions are associated with dissolution of gypsite layers in the upper San Andres Formation (Permian) that caps much of Chupadera Mesa. Moreover, existing and proposed KEI disposal cells are adjacent to shallow “solution-subsidence depressions” in the N ½ of Section 19, T. 2 N., R. 8 E. that contain two small “internally-drained basins”; and one “small cavern” is located in the NW ¼ of Section 18 (Fig. 3). Therefore, the primary issues related to site integrity involve whether or not local karst features are “active” or “relict” in a long-term “geologic” context of 1) linkage of disposal cells with the groundwater-flow system, and 2) geomorphic-surface stability related to solution-subsidence processes.

To date, the only local “active karst” feature that has been positively identified is the “cavern” in Section 18; but the two “internally-drained basins” in Section 19 should also be regarded as potential sites of “active” solution-subsidence. Of these, only the “basin” in the NE ¼ of Section 19 in within the KEI property boundary; and it is not in an area of any existing or proposed disposal cells. In addition, it has been confirmed that the depth to the regional water table is about 500 ft, and that the primary aquifer system is in the basal Glorieta Sandstone and the underlying gypsiferous Yeso Formation (Figs. 4 and 5). Subsurface-flow linkage between disposal cells and local/regional aquifers does not appear to be a significant factor in current KEI site operations because of 1) the generally fine-grained properties soils and unconsolidated geologic materials that cap the local uplands, 2) the great thickness of the vadose in subjacent bedrock units, and 3 the physical and chemical nature of the waste itself.

Significance of Soil-Geomorphic Features and Soil-Forming Processes

All existing (active and closed) landfill cells, as well as proposed future sites for KEI asbestos-disposal operations are located in a geomorphically stable upland area that occupies a much older and more-extensive solution-subsidence depression on the “West Mesa” section of Chupadera Mesa. Surficial deposits primarily comprise eolian sediments (silt-clay-sand) with thin basal zones of gravelly colluvium; and thicknesses locally exceed 30 feet, but are usually less than 20 feet. Several buried-soil profiles are commonly present in this unconsolidated sedimentary sequence. Any karst landforms in the upland area are here regarded as “relict” products of dissolution processes that are no longer “active” in a long-term “geologic” context (Fig. 2, Soil Survey mapping unit “Wo” on Figs. 3). This conclusion is based on the observation that soils with well-developed horizons of clay and carbonate accumulation are present throughout all parts of the site that have been utilized since disposal operations began in 1986 (e.g. Fig. 3, Bourlier et al. 1970, and documentary photographs by Hawley (12/1988) and NMED-Solid-Waste Bureau staff (n.d.).  Based strictly on site-wide soil-geomorphic and soil-stratigraphic evidence, it is therefore inferred that the existing disposal cells are located in parts of the KEI property where the land surface and shallow surficial deposits have not been affected by solution-subsidence processes for at least tens of thousands of years (cf. Gile et al., 1981, 1995; Machette, 1985; Hawley and Longmire, 1992; Hawley, 1993). However, since the entire site area is underlain by gypsite layers of substantial thickness in both the San Andres and Yeso Formations, it is probable that 1) paleo-(gypsum)karst features are present in the deeper subsurface and 2) significant solution-subsidence has occurred in the more-distant geologic past (several hundred thousand to millions of years time frame).

Concluding Remarks

It is clear from the preceding discussion that at least some of the factors considered in both the original (1986) report and this “addendum” are based on assumptions that may require significant future revision. First, all inferences, conclusions and recommendations relate to KEI landfill disposal operations that are restricted to an asbestos-waste stream. Second, no detailed onsite hydrogeological, geotechnical, geophysical, or geochemical investigations have ever been conducted, although some surface-geophysical surveys are planned in the near future. Finally, there clearly needs to be a refinement of the definitions “karst” and related solution-subsidence processes in an environmental-regulation context. However, with these caveats in mind and where surficial geologic conditions generally conform to those at existing landfill cells, continued asbestos-waste disposal should pose no significant additional burden on the local environment.

*Definitions of Karst Terminology

Karst. A type of topography that is formed on limestones, gypsum, and other soluble rocks, primarily by dissolution. It is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage. . . . Syn: karst topography. (p. 348)

Karstification. The action of water, mainly solutional but also mechanical, that produces features of karst topography . . . . (p. 349)

*Neuendorf, K.K.E., Mehl, J.P., Jr., and Jackson, J.A., 2005, Glossary of Geology, Fifth Edition: American Geological Institute, Alexandria, VA., 779 p.

Addendum Bibliography

References on General and Environmental Geology, and Gypsum Karst**

Allen, B. D. and Hawley, J. W., 1991, Lake Estancia basin tour, in Hawley, J. W., and Love, D. W. (compliers), Quaternary and Neogene landscape-evolution: A transect across the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range provinces in west-central and central New Mexico, New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Bulletin 137, p. 130-134.

Barrow, R., and Keller, R., 1994, An integrated geophysical study of the Estancia Basin, central New Mexico: Geological Society of America Special Paper 291, p. 171-186.

Broadhead, R.F., 1997, Subsurface geology and oil and gas potential of Estancia Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Bulletin 157, 54 p.

Broadhead, R.F., and Jones, G., 2004, Oil, natural gas and helium potential of the Chupadera Mesa area, Lincoln and Socorro Counties, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Open-File Report 478, CD-ROM.

**Forbes, J., and Nance, R., 1997, Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and structural geology of gypsum caves in east-central New Mexico: Carbonates and Evaporites, v. 2, no. 1, p. 62-72.

Hawley, J.W., 1986b, Environmental geology of the Keers Environmental, Inc. Asbestos Disposal Site, Torrance County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Open-file Report 245, 12 p.

Hawley, J.W., 1993, The Ogallala and Gatuña Formations in the southeastern New Mexico region: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 44, p. 261-269.

Hawley, J.W., 2005, Five million years of landscape evolution in New Mexico: An overview based on two centuries of geomorphic conceptual-model development, in Lucas, S. G., Morgan, G., and Zeigler, K.E., eds, 2005, New Mexico’s Ice Ages: New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin No. 28.

Hawley, J.W. and Longmire, P.A., 1992, Perspectives on waste disposal in arid lands: Site characterization and selection, in Reith, C.C. and Thomson, B.M., eds., Deserts as Dumps? The disposal of hazardous materials in arid ecosystems: Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, p. 57-99.

**Kelley, V.C., 1971, Geology of the Pecos Country, southeastern New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Memoir 24, 75 p.

**Kelley, V.C., 1972, Geology of the Fort Sumner sheet, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin 98, 55 p.

Karlstrom, K.E., Cather, S.M., Kelley, S.A., Pazzaglia, F.J., and Roy, M., 1999, Sandia Mountains and Rio Grande rift: Ancestry of structures and history of deformation: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 50, p. 155-165.

**Land, L., Lueth, V.W., Raatz, W., Boston, P., and Love, D.W., eds., 2006, Caves and karst of southeastern New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 57, 344 p.

Pazzaglia, F.J. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 1999, Albuquerque geology: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook 50, 448p. Including Color Plates A, C, D, T, U, and V, 133-148.

**Sweeting, M.M., 1972, Karst and solution phenomena in the Santa Rosa area, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 23, p. 168-170.

References on Hydrogeology

Hawley, J.W., 2004, Hydrogeologic cross sections of the Estancia groundwater basin, central New Mexico: New Mexico Water Research Symposium (N.M. Tech-8/10/2004), N.M. Water Resources Research Institute, NMSU, Symposium Program and Abstracts, p. E-15.

Hawley, J.W., 2005, Hydrogeologic framework of the Estancia groundwater basin, New Mexico, in Española Basin Technical Advisory Group (EBTAG) 4th Annual Española Basin Workshop (March 2005), Santa Fe, NM, Program and Preliminary Poster Abstracts.



Shafike, N.G., and Flanigan, K.G., 1999, Hydrologic modeling of the Estancia Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 50, p. 409-418.

References on Soils and Soil-Geomorphic Relationships

Gile, L. H., Hawley, J. W., Grossman, R. B., Monger, H. C., Montoya, C. E., and Mack, G. H., 1996, Supplement to the Desert Project Guidebook, with emphasis on soil micromorphology: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Bulletin 142, 96 p.

Hawley, J.W., 1993, Some principles of calcisol development and soil-geomorphic relationships in southeastern New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 44, p. 4-5.

Machette, M.N., 1985, Calcic soils of the southwestern United States, in Weide, D.L., ed., Quaternary soils and geomorphology of the American Southwest: Geological Society of America Special Paper 203, p. 1-21.

Trench Covers, and Biointrusion and Capillary Barriers

Hakonson, T.E., Lane, Springer, E.P., 1992, Perspectives on waste disposal in arid lands: Biotic and abiotic processes, in Reith, C.C. and Thomson, B.M., eds., Deserts as Dumps? The disposal of hazardous materials in arid ecosystems: Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, p. 101-146.

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