Two New Mexico citizen groups are repeating demands for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to conduct an independent review of the Kirtland Air Force Base groundwater contamination.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Albuquerque-based Citizen Action and the environmental group Amigos Bravos sent a letter last week calling on the EPA to conduct its own preliminary assessment.
Dave McCoy of Citizen Action complained that the Air Force and state Environment Department are not pursuing cleanup "in any meaningful way."
But state officials disputed McCoy's contention, pointing to an accelerated cleanup effort launched during the summer that includes expanded soil vapor and water pumping.
Air Force officials discovered a leaking underground fuel line in 1999. Subsequent investigation concluded that it had likely been leaking for decades.