CONTRACTOR REPORT SAND96-1608 Unlimited Release UC-630 Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico Environmental Baseline Update-Revision 1.0 PtECE SEP 0 3 1988 IT Corporation O S T I 5301 Central Avenue, NE, Suite 700 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 Prepared by Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 and Livermore, California 94550 for the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Printed July 1996 DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. Issued by Sandia National Laboratories, operated for the United States Department of Energy by Sandia Corporation. NOTICE: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. 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This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from Office of Scientific and Technical Information PO Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Prices available from (615) 576-8401, FTS 626-8401 Available to the public from National Technical Information Service US Department of Commerce 5285 Port Royal Rd Springfield, VA 22161 NTIS price codes Printed copy: A17 Microfiche copy: A01 SAND96-1608 Unlimited Release Distribution Printed July 1996 Category UC - 630 Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico Environmental Baseline Update—Revision 1.0 Prepared for: Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico Risk Management and NEPA Department Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 Prepared by: IT Corporation 5301 Central Avenue, NE, Suite 700 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 Sandia Task Leader: Theodore A. Wolff, 7315 Sandia Contract 120939-A Abstract The purpose of this Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM) Environmental Baseline Update is to provide the background information necessary for SNL/NM personnel and contractors to prepare clear and concise NEPA documentation. The scope of the Environmental Baseline Update is to provide comprehensive data needed to support a description of the affected environment at the SNL/NM facility. The "description of the affected environment," required by the CEQ regulations in 40 CFR §1502.15, is an essential prerequisite for assessing the environmental consequences (§1502.18) of a proposed action (project) to be implemented by SNL/NM. DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT l§ UNLIMITED Table of Contents. List of Tables vi List of Figures viii List of Appendices xi List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xii Preface xvi 1.0 Background 1-1 1.1 Early History 1-1 1.2 SNL/NM Today 1-1 2.0 Geology 2-1 2.1 Geomorphology 2-1 2.1.1 Geomorphic Provinces and Subprovinces in the SNL/NM-KAFB Region 2-1 2.1.1.1 The Llano de Manzano Geomorphic Province 2-3 2.1.1.2 The Llano de Sandia Geomorphic Province 2-5 2.1.1.3 The Rio Grande Geomorphic Province 2-6 2.1.1.4 The Rift-Margin Ranges Geomorphic Province 2-6 2.2 Stratigraphy 2-7 2.2.1 Precambrian Basement Complex 2-9 2.2.2 Upper Paleozoic Strata 2-9 2.2.3 Upper Cretaceous Strata 2-9 2.2.4 Paleogene Strata 2-10 2.2.5 Neogene/Quaternary Santa Fe Group Strata 2-10 2.2.5.1 Hydrostratigraphic Units 2-11 2.2.6 Quaternary Post-Santa Fe Group Sediments 2-12 2.3 Structural Geology 2-12 2.3.1 Regional Tectonic Setting 2-12 2.3.2 Local Faults 2-13 2.4 Seismology 2-17 2.5 Soils 2-21 2.5.1 Geomorphic Relations 2-21 2.5.2 Soil Series 2-23 2.6 Paleontology 2-28 3.0 Hydrology 3-1 Table of Contents (Continued). 3.1 Surface-Water Hydrology 3-1 3.1.1 Flooding 3-3 3.1.2 Surface-Water Monitoring 3-3 3.1.3 USGS Surface-Water Stations 3-5 3.2 Vadose Zone Hydrology 3-5 3.2.1 Vadose Zone Hydrogeologic Framework 3-7 3.2.2 Previous Studies 3-9 3.3 Groundwater Hydrology '. 3-10 3.3.1 Historical and Predicted Groundwater Utilization 3-10 3.3.2 Saturated Zone Hydrogeology 3-11 3.3.2.1 Regional Setting 3-11 3.3.2.2 SNL/NM-KAFB Saturated Zone Setting 3-14 3.3.2.3 Groundwater Monitoring Well Network 3-16 3.3.3 Groundwater Quality Monitoring 3-17 3.3.4 USGS Monitoring Program 3-18 4.0 Climate and Meteorology 4-1 4.1 Temperature and Humidity 4-1 4.2 Precipitation 4-7 4.3 Wind 4-8 4.4 Severe Weather 4-11 5.0 Ecology 5-1 5.1 Vegetation 5-2 5.1.1 Grasslands 5-2 5.1.2 Woodlands 5-5 5.1.3 Riparian Scrublands (Arroyos) 5-6 5.1.4 Riparian Woodlands (Canyons) 5-6 5.2 Wildlife 5-7 5.2.1 Grassland Wildlife Communities 5-8 5.2.2 Woodland Wildlife Communities 5-9 5.2.3 Arroyo and Canyon Wildlife Communities 5-10 5.3 Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species and Habitats 5-11 6.0 Air Quality 6-1 6.1 Radionuclide Airborne Emissions 6-5 6.2 Nonradiological Airborne Emissions 6-7 ii Table of Contents (Continued)- 6.3 Monitoring Results 6-7 6.3.1 Monitoring Results Conclusions and Recommendations 6-15 6.4 Air. Dispersion Models 6-18 6.4.1 Model Description 6-19 6.4.2 Receptor Fields 6-23 6.4.3 Meteorological Data for the ISCST Model 6-23 6.4.4 Land Use 6-23 6.5 Summary and Comparison of Modeling Results and Monitoring Data 6-26 6.6 Air Quality in the Southeast Heights 6-27 6.7 Carbon Monoxide Emissions from SNL/NM Vehicular Traffic 6-27 7.0 Noise 7-1 7.1 Overview of Noise Sources 7-1 7.2 Existing Noise Data 7-3 7.2.1 ABQ Noise Monitoring Program 7-4 7.2.2 Technical Area H Noise Monitoring Program 7-5 7.2.3 Noise Investigation of the Sol se Mete ACF 7-5 7.3 Existing Noise Conditions 7-9 8.0 Cultural Resources 8-1 8.1 Cultural History of the Middle Rio Grande Valley 8-1 8.1.1 Paleolndian Period 8-1 8.1.2 Archaic 8-2 8.1.3 Anasazi 8-3 8.1.4 Historic (1600 to Present AD) 8-6 8.2 History of KAFB and SNL/NM 8-8 8.2.1 Kirtland Air Force Base 8-8 8.2.2 Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico 8-9 8.3 SNL/NM Cultural Resource Inventories 8-11 8.4 Cultural Resource Studies at KAFB 8-12 8.5 KAFB Cultural Resource Site Location Summary ". 8-15 9.0 Visual Resources 9-1 9.1 Study Area 9-1 9.2 Study Approach 9-6 9.3 Methodology 9-6 9.4 Visual Resource Analysis 9-7 iii Table of Contents (Continued)- 9.4.1 Variety Class 9-7 9.4.2 Sensitivity Level 9-10 9.4.3 Representative Key Views 9-14 9.4.4 Visual Quality Objectives 9-14 10.0 Socioeconomics/Demographics....: 10-1 10.1 Economic Impact : 10-1 10.1.1 Employment 10-1 10.1.2 Overall Economic Impact 10-1 10.1.3 Construction 10-3 10.2 Social Impact : 10-7 10.2.1 SNL/NM Community Involvement 10-7 10.2.2 Political and Public Affairs 10-7 10.3 Technical Impact : 10-8 10.4 SNL/NM Impact on Local Education 10-9 10.5 Demography 10-11 10.5.1 Housing 10-13 10.5.2 Educational Services '.... 10-13 10.5.3 Employment 10-13 10.5.4 Income 10-13 10.5.5 Government/Services 10-14 10.5.6 Recreation 10-14 11.0 Transportation 11-1 11.1 Regional Transportation 11-1 11.2 SNL/NM Transportation Patterns 11-3 11.3 Parking 11-4 12.0 Land Use 12-1 12.1 Technical Areas 12-5 12.1.1 Technical Area I 12-5 12.1.2 Technical Area II 12-5 12.1.3 Technical Area m 12-5 12.1.4 Technical Area IV : 12-8 12.1.5 Technical Area V 12-8 12.1.6 Other Test Facilities : 12-8 13.0 References 13-1 iv Table of Contents (Continued)- 14.0 List of Contacts' 14-1 15.0 Glossary 15-1 List of Tables Table Title Page 2-1 Noninstrumentally Located Earthquakes in New Mexico 2-18 2-2 Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in New Mexico 2-19 2-3 General Soils Classification for Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico.... 2-24 3-1 Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico and Kirtland Air Force Base Surface Water Monitoring Stations 3-6 4-1 Temperature Normals, Means, and Extremes for Albuquerque, New Mexico...