A report about pipes which contain downdropped strata located in the southwestern part of the San Jun Basin, New Mexico.

This field conference was designed to assemble a group of Quaternary researchers to examine the possibility of using the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field in western New Mexico as a test area for evaluating and calibrating various Quaternary dating techniques. The Zuni-Bandera volcanic-field is comprised of a large number of basaltic lava flows ranging in age from about 700 to 3 ka. Older basalts are present in the Mount Taylor volcanic field to the north. Geologic mapping has been completed for a large portion of the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field and a number of geochronological investigations have been initiated in the area. While amending this conference, please consider how you might bring your expertise and capabilities to bear on solving the many problem in Quaternary geochronology.

The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site is within the Grants Mineral Belt and was one of numerous uranium mills supplied by many local mines. Ground water contamination at the site occurred as a result of uranium mill operations. The potential for impacts to human health and the environment from contaminated ground water currently does not exist. No domestic or livestock wells accessing ground water from the uppermost aquifer have been identified within a 5 mile radius from the site. Therefore, no current exposure pathways to humans, livestock, or wildlife exist, nor are any foreseen. The proposed ground water compliance strategy under consideration for application at the Ambrosia Lake site is to perform no remediation, based on the application of supplemental standards because the ground water has ``limited use.``

This 1991 report contains monitoring data from routine radiological and nonradiological environmental surveillance activities. Summaries of significant environmental compliance programs in progress such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, environmental permits, environmental restoration (ER), and various waste management programs for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque (SNL, Albuquerque) are included. The maximum offsite dose impact was calculated to be 1.3 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} mrem. The total population within a 50-mile radius of SNL, Albuquerque, received a collective dose of 0.53 person-rem during 1991 from SNL, Albuquerque, operations. As in the previous year, the 1991 operations at SNL, Albuquerque, had no discernible impact on the general public or on the environment.

Water sampling and analysis plan (WSAP) is required for each U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site to provide a basis for ground water and surface water sampling at disposal and former processing sites. This WSAP identifies and justifies the sampling locations, analytical parameters, detection limits, and sampling frequency for the monitoring stations at the Navaho Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, UMTRA Project site. The purposes of the water sampling at Shiprock for fiscal year (FY) 1994 are to (1) collect water quality data at new monitoring locations in order to build a defensible statistical data base, (2) monitor plume movement on the terrace and floodplain, and (3) monitor the impact of alluvial ground water discharge into the San Juan River. The third activity is important because the community of Shiprock withdraws water from the San Juan River directly across from the contaminated alluvial floodplain below the abandoned uranium mill tailings processing site.

The purpose of this report is to characterize the seeps identified at the Shiprock UMTRA Project site during the prelicensing custodial care inspection conducted in December of 1990, to evaluate the relationship between the seeps and uranium processing activities or tailings disposal, and to evaluate the risk posed by the seep water to human health and the environment. The report provides a brief description of the geology, groundwater hydrology, and surface water hydrology. The locations of the seeps and monitor wells are identified, and the water quality of the seeps and groundwater is discussed in the context of past activities at the site. The water quality records for the site are presented in tables and appendices; this information was used in the risk assessment of seep water.

This water sampling and analysis plan (WSAP) provides the basis for ground water sampling at the Ambrosia Lake Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site during fiscal year 1994. It identifies and justifies the sampling locations, analytical parameters, detection limits, and sampling frequency for the monitoring locations and will be updated annually. The Ambrosia Lake site is in McKinley County, New Mexico, about 40 kilometers (km) (25 miles [mi]) north of Grants, New Mexico, and 1.6 km (1 mi) east of New Mexico Highway 509 (Figure 1.1). The town closest to the tailings pile is San Mateo, about 16 km ( 10 mi) southeast (Figure 1.2). The former mill and tailings pile are in Section 28, and two holding ponds are in Section 33, Township 14 North, Range 9 West. The site is shown on the US Geological Survey (USGS) map (USGS, 1980). The site is approximately 2100 meters (m) (7000 feet [ft]) above sea level.

This baseline risk assessment at the former uranium mill tailings site near Shiprock, New Mexico, evaluates the potential impact to public health or the environment resulting from ground water contamination at the former uranium mill processing site. The tailings and other contaminated material at this site were placed in an on-site disposal cell in 1986 through the US Department of Energy (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. Currently, the UMTRA Project is evaluating ground water contamination. This risk assessment is the first document specific to this site for the Ground Water Project. There are no domestic or drinking water wells in the contaminated ground water of the two distinct ground water units: the contaminated ground water in the San Juan River floodplain alluvium below the site and the contaminated ground water in the terrace alluvium area where the disposal cell is located. Because no one is drinking the affected ground water, there are currently no health or environmental risks directly associated with the contaminated ground water. However, there is a potential for humans, domestic animals, and wildlife to the exposed to surface expressions of ground water in the seeps and pools in the area of the San Juan …

Parent map for El Paso County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:8,500.

Parent map for Gaines County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:27,500.

Parent map for Oldham County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:20,000.

Index map for Hudspeth County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:218,409.

Index map for Loving County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:120,186.

Parent map for Cochran County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:20,000.

Parent map for Bailey County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:27,500.

Parent map for Andrews County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:20,000.

Parent map for Andrews County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:20,000.

Parent map for Parmer County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:24,000.

Index map for Gaines County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:120,186.

Parent map for El Paso County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:8,500.

Parent map for Dallam County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:40,000.

Parent map for Deaf Smith County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:27,500.

Parent map for El Paso County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:8,500.

Parent map for El Paso County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:8,500.