Project Ranger advances in Sandoval County, but is it safe?

Castelion Corporation’s proposed 1,000-acre rocket motor production facility, Project Ranger, is moving forward in Sandoval County, despite ongoing resident concerns, with experts concluding the site’s large space allows for safe distances from nearby buildings even under conservative hazard analysis.

But while Sandoval County, which is responsible for final approvals for land use and hazard mitigation, is confident the site and safety standards can be met, a final site plan and many of the hazard plans required to manufacture missiles to deliver high explosives are still in development.

The Sandoval Signpost sat down with local officials to review the project plans, and specifically safety standards and mitigation that would be required.

The facility, intended for manufacturing and testing next-generation hypersonic systems, has been reviewed by Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) noted that the site appears to be a “well-situated facility in family with similar industry-specific locations scattered across the nation.”

The project, proposed by Torrance, California-based Castelion Corporation, is currently being evaluated for location. Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson confirmed that the proposed site is located 2.9 miles from the Northern Meadows neighborhood.

A community informational meeting regarding the proposed facility is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the cafeteria of Cielo Azul Elementary School, with representatives from the project team present to provide information and answer questions from the community.

Castelion Co-Founder and CFO Andrew Kreitz will give a presentation on Project Ranger at Wednesday’s Sandoval County commission meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Sandoval County Admin Building.

This project has been on the radar at the Sandoval Signpost, which sat down with Johnson in early October and reviewed records related to Project Ranger to find out more about the proposed project. 

Economic boost and jobs

If selected, Phase One of Project Ranger is expected to bring significant economic benefits to New Mexico, generating more than $659 million in economic output over the next decade, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department. The initial phase could see an investment exceeding $101 million and the hiring of up to 300 new employees, including engineers, technicians, and executives, with average salaries over $100,000 per year. Sandoval County estimates the project could conservatively create 965 jobs over 10 years attributed to the project.

“I’m very excited about this project. It’s something that we’ve looked for. It’s something that we need in this community,” Johnson said. “It’s something that will help not only Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, but the entire west side of the metro area.”

He described the project as a rare find for the region. 

“It’s a unicorn. Where are you going to find a low water use manufacturer that brings in 300 $100K jobs?” Johnson asked. “You just can’t put it on your list.”

Safety and Hazards Analysis

Many of the community’s earliest concerns relate to the storage and testing of explosives for the development of rocket-fired missiles.

The proposed facility would manufacture solid rocket booster motors and conduct static motor tests in controlled settings. Johnson emphasized that Castelion would not be making or testing warheads.

“They’re not making bombs,” Johnson said. “What they’re manufacturing on site is the motor.”

Still, technical safety documents show that emergency explosion scenarios could affect structures up to five miles away. The site sits 2.9 miles from Rio Rancho’s Northern Meadows neighborhood, with safety zones that overlap with homes, schools and parks.

Records reviewed by the Signpost show population impact data having 5,933 buildings/structures within the 5-mile radius. Nearby residential subdivisions (Northern Meadows, Cielo Norte, North Hills, Los Pinons, Camino Crossing), two fire stations, two elementary schools, and nine parks are within a 5-mile radius.

An analysis by Sandia National Labs found that the amount of explosives currently proposed would create a danger to buildings within an approximately half-mile radius. That is something the expansive site’s large site could allow, though a final site plan is still under development.

Sandia’s preliminary hazard discussion, presented to the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA), the State Land Office and the City of Rio Rancho, utilized Defense Explosive Safety Regulation (DESR) 6055.09, a national industry standard, to model worst-case explosive scenarios.

Key hazard analysis results, assuming conservative (and sometimes unlikely) Hazard Classification (HC) 1.1 explosives, show:

• Missile Storage: All Up Round (AUR) missile storage of up to 225,000 pounds of HC1.1 material in an Earth Covered Magazine (ECM) would require a 2,919-foot hazard arc for an Inhabited Building Distance (IBD).
• Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) Storage: On-site storage of 250,000 pounds of AP, if classified as the worst-case HC1.1 explosive, calculates an IBD of 3,150 feet.
• Static Fire Testing: The proposed Intentional Detonation Site (IDS) for ground-based testing will handle Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) up to 321 pounds Net Explosive Weight (NEW). The Minimum Safe Distance (MSD) for non-essential personnel during static firing is 1,111 feet.

Sandia noted that many of these distances could be significantly reduced if testing results in a lower Hazard Classification, such as HC1.3, which is common for this class of SRM.

The experts concluded that even under these worst-case assumptions, the facility’s location “likely mitigates explosives hazards and potential impacts to the citizens of Rio Rancho,” with the main exception being the potential for broken windows in the largest events.

Fire Safety Variance Requested

In relation to managing hazardous materials, Castelion Corporation is formally requesting a code variance to exempt certain hazardous buildings from requirements for fire sprinkler systems and fire hydrants.

This request is justified by the fact that the application of water could constitute a “serious life or fire hazard” to some of the materials used. Aluminum powder, for example, is water-reactive, and using water on ammonium perchlorate fires could cause significant ground contamination.

The emergency plan for energetic building fires dictates that local fire departments would not be allowed to respond and that the buildings are designed to be sacrificial to vent blast overpressures. The project is classified as low-water use, primarily needing water for employees and potable needs.

As alternative safety measures, the facility plans to implement fire extinguishers in mechanical rooms, provide exterior hose bibs for non-energetic outdoor fires, and maintain a minimum 50-foot fire break around all hazardous buildings.

Emergency planning remains in progress. The county does not currently have its own hazmat team, but Johnson said it is coordinating with existing regional responders.

Mitigation and Infrastructure

Sandia experts provided several recommendations to mitigate risks related to the unique New Mexico climate:

• Electrostatic Discharge (ESD): They strongly recommend considering lightning protection systems and Potential Gradient (PG) monitoring systems to minimize risk from electrical storms and high-wind, low-humidity effects.
• Drainage: Due to the proximity of a drainage site to an arroyo, plans must be established to retain contaminated runoff water from the static fire pad area in case of fire suppression or monsoon activity.
• Studies: Sandia recommended that a Transportation Study be conducted for public routes near the facility, along with a Plume Study to assess air quality impacts from a low-probability, large-scale facility fire.

“There is a plume study underway. It’s required by the lease. Sandia is doing the plume study,” Johnson said. “That means, in a worst-case scenario, something were to explode, what types of exposures would we expect?”

He noted that the manufacturing process primarily deals with solid materials rather than gases. 

“For the most part, the manufacturing process, they’re dealing with solids, not gas materials, so their emissions, it’s not an emission,” Johnson said.

To support the facility’s logistics, Sandoval County is actively working on the Paseo del Volcan (PDV) extension, securing $5 million in funding from the Department of Transportation (DOT). County officials confirmed that the planned route for hazardous material transport intentionally utilizes the PDV alignment, ensuring traffic stays on all-state roads and avoids Rio Rancho surface roads and neighborhoods.

Addressing Community Concerns

When asked what he would say to residents who remain concerned about the project, Johnson emphasized the facility’s safety profile and regulatory oversight.

“I would say that this is probably one of the safest activities that you could find for the site that checks a lot of the boxes: high wage jobs, safety regulation,” Johnson said. “As far as being regulated by not only all of the state agencies and federal environmental-type agencies, but also DoD on top of that, I would say that this is going to be one of the safest activities that could take place on those pieces of property that provide those types of jobs.”

He added a practical perspective on risk: “You run a risk getting in your car and driving to work in Albuquerque. Maybe some of that risk is mitigated because you now have a job at Castelion here in Sandoval County, as opposed to risking your life crossing the river working in Albuquerque.”

Johnson also noted that safety plans are still under development. 

“The safety plans are under development right now, just because we need to understand what their capabilities are going to be on site, our capabilities are going to need to be, and then fully understand the risk set,” he said.

If Castelion selects the Sandoval County site, Johnson indicated the company is working on an aggressive timeline, with plans to have the facility operational in 2027, approximately 18 months from a final decision.

After the county commissioners hear the presentation from Castelion on Wednesday, they will vote on an ordinance approving the Local Economic Development (LEDA) Project for Castelion to build the facility and a resolution approving the grant agreement between Sandoval County and the New Mexico Department of Transportation for $5,000,000 for PDV construction.