Final Environmental Assessment for the Boles Wells Field Perimeter Security Improvement Project Otero County, New Mexico

Abstract : The Boles Wells Field Perimeter Security Improvement Project is proposed to provide clear boundary demarcation, and to delay and deter trespass, for the Boles Wells Field of the Boles Wells Water System Annex (BWWSA) of Holloman Air Force Base. Located approximately 5 miles south of downtown Alamogordo, NM, adjacent to the western foothills of the Sacramento Mountains, the primary purpose of the BWWSA is to provide a safe source of potable water for HAFB. The Boles Wells property is the northernmost unit of the BWWSA, and was acquired in fee simple by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1956. A new barbed wire boundary fence was built in 1957. The 1957 fence was considered adequate until1989, when it was replaced by new barbed wire on metal T- posts on the North, East, and South, and new wire was strung on railroad-tie posts on the West. These fences were aging, but considered adequate until passage of legislation requiring higher protection. As required by Public Law 107-188, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, security vulnerabilities were identified in a Water Vulnerability Assessment (WV A) and supplemental Risk Assessment prepared for Holloman AFB. The USAF proposes to reduce perimeter security vulnerabilities of the Boles Wells Field. These activities are to take place entirely upon lands solely owned by the USAF.