Superfund Sites in Reuse in New Mexico
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AT & SF (CLOVIS)
The 140-acre AT & SF (Clovis) Superfund site is in Clovis, New Mexico. The site includes Santa Fe Lake, a natural playa lake and surrounding uplands. From the early 1900s to 1990, stormwater and wastewater discharge from the nearby AT & SF railyard contaminated surface water, sediment and soil. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1981. Cleanup activities included construction of a rainfall run-on/runoff control system, excavation and treatment of sediment, and placement of treated sediments in a capped storage facility on-site. Cleanup also included bioremediation of soil and sediment, fencing- and institutional controls. Cleanup finished in 2000. EPA took the site off the NPL in 2003. The Ogallala Aquifer, a source of drinking water for the city of Clovis, is beneath the site. A playa restoration project on-site includes limiting grazing, brush management, range management and earthwork. On-site areas were restored with native grasses. They provide habitat for migratory birds.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use For additional information click here.
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AT&SF (ALBUQUERQUE)
The 89-acre AT&SF (Albuquerque) Superfund site is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the former AT&SF Tie Treating Plant. The facility was a wood-treating plant from 1908 to 1972, when it was dismantled. The facility used mostly creosote and creosote petroleum mixtures to make pressure-treated wood products. Operations contaminated soil and groundwater. A 1990 report from the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Division stated that sludge found on-site contained hazardous substances including arsenic, barium, lead and creosote. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1994. Cleanup activities included the excavation and removal of contaminated debris, soil and sludge. After excavation, the areas were restored by backfilling them with clean soil and the surface was graded to provide proper drainage. Soil not requiring off-site disposal was stabilized, placed in a soil repository and capped. Recovery trenches and pumps were put in to collect and extract dense non-aqueous phase liquid from groundwater. Groundwater treatment started in 2010 and ended in 2021 after achieving desired cleanup goals and key milestones for cleanup. Institutional controls in place restrict site disturbance and groundwater use. EPA published a final notice of partial deletion from the NPL for the northern 62 acres of the site in 2011. Routine inspections of the remedy and groundwater monitoring are ongoing. The site’s owner and potentially responsible party, a railroad contractor, is active on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on one on-site business. This business employed 5 people and generated an estimated $978,000 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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CHEVRON QUESTA MINE
The Chevron Questa Mine Superfund site is in Taos County, New Mexico. It includes a former mine, milling facility and tailing impoundments. The mine and mill cover about 3 square miles of land east of the village of Questa on State Highway 38. A nine-mile tailing pipeline ran from the mill site to the tailing facility, mostly along State Highway 38 and the Red River. The tailing impoundments cover about 2 square miles of land west of Questa. Mining operations began in 1919. Chevron Mining, formerly Molycorp, ceased mining operations in 2014. Open-pit mining resulted in over 328 million tons of waste rock, which were placed in rock piles around the open pit. Regular breakage of the tailing pipeline from 1966 to 1991 caused tailings to spill into the Red River and its floodplain as well as a local irrigation ditch. Stormwater runoff also carried mining waste over land, contaminating soil and sediments in local surface water bodies, including Eagle Rock Lake. An expanded site investigation in the mid-1990s by the New Mexico Environment Department found that releases of hazardous substances to groundwater and surface water at the site had occurred. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2011. Cleanup activities included excavating and disposing of contaminated soil and tailings deposits, regrading, covering and revegetating waste rock piles, and covering and revegetating tailing impoundments. Cleanup also included putting in groundwater recovery systems, treating groundwater, installing stormwater controls, dredging, providing a temporary alternate water supply, placing drilling restrictions and dewatering the underground mine. In 2010, Chevron Technology Ventures built a solar facility on 21 acres of the site. It produces about 1 megawatt of energy annually, enough to power about 150 homes. The facility opened in 2011. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative purchases the electricity under a 20-year agreement. Some mine cleanup efforts include a part of the site managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), including Eagle Rock Lake. Chevron Mining and other stakeholders partnered to restore the lake, a valued community resource, by removing contaminated sediment that had settled on the bottom of the lake, installing a clay liner to help seal the lake’s bottom, and replacing lakeside recreation facilities and putting in new walkways and bridges. Eagle Rock Lake officially reopened in October 2015. The lake’s surroundings offer trails, picnic areas and restroom facilities. The Red River hatchery routinely stocks the lake with trout. The USFS property has also been the focus of habitat preservation and restoration work. In September 2017, EPA Region 6 presented its Greenovations Award to Chevron Environmental Management Company, USFS, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the village of Questa, and Chevron project contractors Arcadis and ENTACT for their efforts at Eagle Rock Lake.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on one on-site business. EPA did not have further economic details related to this business. For additional information click here.
For more information:
- Site Redevelopment Profile: Eagle Rock Lake and the Chevron Questa Mine Superfund Site (PDF)
- Redevelopment of the Molycorp Inc., Superfund Site (PDF)
- New Energies: Utility-Scale Solar on a Tailing Disposal Facility, Chevron Questa Mine Superfund Site in Questa, New Mexico (PDF)
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Eagle Rock Lake Restoration
Superfund Greenovations Award
Alternative Energy: From a Toxic Past to a Renewable Future
CIMARRON MINING CORP.
The 18-acre Cimarron Mining Corp. Superfund site is in Carrizozo, New Mexico. It includes two areas – the 10.6-acre former Cimarron Mill area and the 7.5-acre former Sierra Blanca Mill area. From 1960 to 1982, milling operations at both areas contaminated soil, sediment and groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1989. Cleanup at the Cimarron Mill area included groundwater extraction and treatment. Cleanup activities at the Sierra Blanca Mill area included digging up contaminated soil and stabilizing it with cement, placing it in two disposal cells on-site, and capping and revegetating the disposal cells. EPA took the site off the NPL in two parts, in 2000 and 2020. Groundwater monitoring at the Sierra Blanca Mill area is ongoing. The former Cimarron Mill area is in commercial reuse; an auto repair shop and salvage yard are located there. The owner of the auto repair shop and property lives on-site. The town of Carrizozo uses the former Sierra Blanca Mill area for the disposal of construction and demolition waste.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on one on-site business. EPA did not have further economic details related to this business. For additional information click here.
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FRUIT AVENUE PLUME
The Fruit Avenue Plume Superfund site is in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. From 1924 to 1972, two laundry and dry-cleaning facilities were on-site. In 1972, a realty company and a development company purchased the properties. They demolished site buildings and built a bank parking lot. In April 1989, routine sampling by the city of Albuquerque (the City) found that the former dry-cleaning operations contaminated groundwater in the area. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1999. Cleanup included treatment of contaminated groundwater, long-term monitoring and groundwater use restrictions. Collaboration among the New Mexico Environment Department, EPA and a developer helped support construction of a green housing development at the site. It opened in 2010. It includes 72 micro-efficiency affordable housing units. The units exceed baseline Green Communities Criteria. Green features include a water recycling system, rooftop rainwater collection systems and rooftop solar panels. The building has an outdoor courtyard with a community garden. A hospitality center runs a coffee shop and provides job training for formerly homeless community members. In 2017, EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program provided support to facilitate discussions between EPA and the City to adjust groundwater remedy components to make more development possible. These projects are now underway. Current land uses at the site include commercial, industrial, manufacturing, public/institutional and residential areas. EPA continues to work with the state and the community to support reuse opportunities at the site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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GRANTS CHLORINATED SOLVENTS
The Grants Chlorinated Solvents Superfund site is in Grants, New Mexico. It consists of a 20-acre, 100-foot-deep groundwater plume that extends about 1,000 feet from the source. The Holiday Cleaners facility is the primary source of contamination. Holiday Cleaners has been a dry-cleaning business since 1969, operated by various owners. Most releases of chlorinated solvent, or tetrachloroethene (PCE), occurred before 1988, when new equipment was installed. An abandoned dry-cleaning facility was identified as a secondary source of contamination. Sampling found groundwater contamination in 1994, with the chlorinated solvents PCE, trichloroethene and dichloroethene found in monitoring wells. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2004. Cleanup activities include the placement of vapor intrusion mitigation systems in homes above the groundwater plume, thermal treatment of subsurface soil and groundwater, an in-situ network of injection wells to treat groundwater, and institutional controls to restrict groundwater use. Periodic vegetable oil injections are ongoing. They have considerably reduced the concentrations of volatiles in the groundwater. Groundwater and vapor intrusion monitoring are ongoing. Groundwater restoration and vapor intrusion mitigation will be optimized to remove indoor air contaminants from buildings. The Holiday Cleaners business transferred to new ownership in 2015. It remains active on-site. The Rio San Jose, a perennial stream, is on-site. Site uses include commercial areas and neighborhoods. Several schools, including a day-care facility, are also on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on one on-site business. This business employed 6 people and generated an estimated $228,380 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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GRIGGS & WALNUT GROUND WATER PLUME
The Griggs & Walnut Ground Water Plume Superfund site is in Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 1993, the New Mexico Environment Department found tetrachloroethylene (PCE) contamination in the city’s municipal supply wells. The plume of contaminated groundwater is about 1.8 miles long by a half-mile wide. Investigations found elevated levels of PCE at the former location of Crawford Municipal Airport, at the present location of the Doña Ana County Transportation Department maintenance facility, and near the former location of a National Guard Armory. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2001. Cleanup includes enhanced groundwater pumping and treatment. Institutional controls limit groundwater use. In 2020, EPA, the city and county, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Guard Bureau entered into a Consent Decree under which the federal government agreed to pay about $7.25 million toward the cleanup. Groundwater treatment is ongoing, with expansion of the monitoring well network occurring in 2024. Current land uses at the site include commercial, light industrial, residential and recreational areas.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 2 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 9 people and generated an estimated $36,040 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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LEA AND WEST SECOND STREET
The Lea and West Second Street Superfund site is in the city of Roswell in Chavez County, New Mexico. Dry-cleaning operations from four different locations in the area released hazardous substances into the soil and groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2016. Investigations are ongoing. Commercial and residential areas on-site remain in continued use. There are also several parks on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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MCGAFFEY AND MAIN GROUNDWATER PLUME
The 550-acre McGaffey and Main Groundwater Plume Superfund site is in Roswell, New Mexico. From 1956 to 2012, several dry-cleaning businesses were active on South Main Street. These businesses used tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in their daily operations. In 1994, the New Mexico Environment Department found contaminants in groundwater samples. Past dry-cleaning operations contaminated the groundwater. NMED put in groundwater monitoring wells. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2002. The agency selected a cleanup plan in 2008. The cleanup includes the use of a vapor intrusion mitigation system to reduce chemical vapors in buildings. EPA also built an enhanced soil vapor extraction system to remove vapors from soil. Groundwater cleanup has resumed after previously being on hold. The cleanup approach successfully controls human exposure to remaining contamination. Continued land uses at the site include public services, residential areas and agricultural uses. Businesses on-site include a family medical practice, financial service providers and food production facilities. A former dry-cleaning business is now a car wash.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 7 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 23 people and generated an estimated $270,940 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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NORTH RAILROAD AVENUE PLUME
The 58-acre North Railroad Avenue Plume Superfund site is in Española, New Mexico. From 1970 to 2007, an on-site facility was occupied and operated by various individuals as a laundromat and dry-cleaning business. Ground water contamination was first discovered in 1989 when tetrachlorothene and trichloethene were detected in two municipal drinking water supply wells for the City of Española. The laundromat facility was identified as the source of the contamination. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1999. The remedy consists of enhanced in-place bioremediation. It uses microbes to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater. The areas targeted for cleanup are the source area, hotspot soils, and areas of shallow and deep groundwater. Cleanup of the source area and hotspot soils finished. Cleanup of shallow and deep groundwater is ongoing and over 90% of the shallow plume is cleaned up. EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program supported a regional support project at the site which finished in 2022. It provided an action plan documenting local revitalization goals as well as opportunities for public and private investments at the site. Land uses above the plume include a park-and-ride transit facility for the North Central Regional Transit District as well as commercial and residential buildings. A city plaza and residential areas are above the deep plumes.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here. For additional information click here.
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PAGANO SALVAGE
The 1.25-acre Pagano Salvage Superfund site is 1 mile southeast of Los Lunas, New Mexico, near the east bank of the Rio Grande River. In 1983, Pagano Salvage purchased electric transformers/capacitors containing oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pagano Salvage removed the oil, poured it over insulated wire and burned off the insulation to recover the metal. EPA contractors led field investigations at the site in 1985. These investigations confirmed PCBs in site soils and identified salvaged materials that contained waste oil contaminated with PCBs. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. Cleanup activities included removing and disposing of about 5,100 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris at a permitted waste facility. Remaining low levels of PCBs were capped with a soil cover. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1992. A home and a ranch are located on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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SOUTH VALLEY
The South Valley Superfund site is in an industrial area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It includes two properties – the former Air Force Plant 83 (GEA) site and the Univar site. Beginning in the 1950s, companies ran two facilities on the GEA site. General Electric Aviation took over in 1984. Companies have used the Univar site for commercial and industrial purposes since the 1960s. Since 1985, Univar USA has distributed chemicals on site. Military activities and chemical distribution on the sites contaminated soil and groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Cleanup actions at the GEA site included soil and groundwater treatment. Groundwater treatment has achieved cleanup goals and is currently under the 2-year attainment monitoring phase at the GEA site. At the Univar site, Off-site groundwater treatment and monitoring are ongoing. Cleanup actions at the Univar site include extraction and treatment of 1,4-dioxane. In 2014, the treatment system achieved cleanup goals for other volatile contaminants. In 2011, after General Electric Aviation closed its jet engine component plant on site, the company committed to recycling or reusing all usable building materials. This effort kept over 14,000 tons of building materials out of local landfills and reduced demolition costs. In 2019, EPA deleted some portions of the site from the NPL. In June 2022, Bernalillo County completed work on a connector road between Interstate 25 and the Albuquerque airport. The road crosses part of the site and features nearby a 20-foot sculpture created by a local artist with community input. A catering company operates on a portion of the site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 3 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 21 people and generated an estimated $11,886,160 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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