United States Air Force Installation Restoration Program (IRP) strategies for Investigating Migrating Contaminated Groundwater

• Main Author: DeWall, Michael L
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.1988
• Subjects: AIR FORCE FACILITIES; CONTAMINANTS; CONTAMINATION; COSTS; DECONTAMINATION; ENVIRONMENTS; GROUND WATER; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; MIGRATION; PLUMES; REGULATORS; SOILS; SOLUTIONS(GENERAL); STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY; TECHNICIANS; THESES; WATER FLOW; WATER POLLUTION AND CONTROL; WATER QUALITY

DOD IRP Remedial Investigations (RI) are often too long and drawn out. The goal of RI is to confirm and quantify soil and groundwater contamination. Often, RI costs exceed estimates and time schedules. Environmental regulators and local residents become distressed over the apparent lack of progress being made. Current RI strategies employed at most Air Force installations involve contamination plume delineation. This strategy for investigation often does not reveal adequate information regarding movement of contaminants. A thorough understanding of the hydrogeological setting is essential to obtain maximum improvement of groundwater quality. An alternative strategy is Transport Quantification (TQ), a process that identifies and quantifies groundwater flow characteristics prior to, or during, contamination investigation. TQ emphasizes surficial and geological investigations and incorporates groundwater flow models. Preliminary investigations focusing on soil and groundwater characterization can greatly reduce the effort and expense of groundwater investigation and restoration. It was also found that a severe lack of manning within the environmental function exists. Without technical personnel administering the IRP, the program will continue to be run ineffectively. The study revealed a need for a better data transfer and communication between base level offices and higher headquarters, between headquarters, and between services. The AF Engineering and Services Center and USAF OEHL are working on solutions to these problems. Theses.