No-migration variance petition

This document reports data collected as part of the Ecological Monitoring Program (EMP) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico, for Calendar Year 1987. Also included are data from the last quarter (October through December) of 1986. This report divides data collection activities into two parts. Part A covers general environmental monitoring which includes meteorology, aerial photography, air quality monitoring, water quality monitoring, and wildlife population surveillance. Part B focuses on the special studies being performed to evaluate the impacts of salt dispersal from the site on the surrounding ecosystem. The fourth year of salt impact monitoring was completed in 1987. These studies involve the monitoring of soil chemistry, soil microbiota, and vegetation in permanent study plots. None of the findings indicate that the WIPP project is adversely impacting environmental quality at the site. As in 1986, breeding bird censuses completed this year indicate changes in the local bird fauna associated with the WIPP site. The decline in small mammal populations noted in the 1986 census is still evident in the 1987 data; however, populations are showing signs of recovery. There is no indication that this decline is related to WIPP activities. Rather, the evidence indicates that natural population fluctuations may be common in this ecosystem. The salt impact studies continue to reveal some short-range transport of salt dust from the saltpiles. This material accumulates at or near the soil surface during the dry seasons in areas near the saltpiles, but is flushed deeper into the soil during the rainy season. Microbial activity does not appear to be affected by this salt importation. Vegetation coverage and density data from 1987 also do not show any detrimental effect associated with aerial dispersal of salt