On Thursday, November 19^th, CCNS filed a Petition for Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unpublished decision that declared CCNS did not have standing to challenge a Clean Water Act permit for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  The Tenth Circuit’s decision is in conflict with U.S. Supreme Court decisions and with decisions throughout the Courts of Appeals.  200423 CA10 decision

Standing is a legal principle to ensure that the entity bringing a lawsuit is the one who has or will suffer the injury.  In our case, meeting the standard means asserting that our experience of the Rio Grande valley is diminished by our fear of the Rio Grande becoming contaminated by LANL’s Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility.  The Facility is not regulated by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs hazardous waste from cradle to grave.

The Tenth Circuit referred to the standing principle, but then added the requirement that CCNS needed to show that contaminants from the Facility actually reach the Rio Grande – eight miles away.  In settled law on standing, CCNS members would only need to show that their use and enjoyment of the valley is diminished by their fear that the Facility is not properly regulated

The Facility handles, treats, and stores hazardous waste. Therefore it must comply with the federal RCRA law, as implemented by the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act.

RCRA provides an exemption for facilities that hold a federal Clean Water Act permit.  The Clean Water Act requires a discharge in order for a permit to be issued. LANL stopped discharging treated industrial waters from the Facility’s Outfall 051 a decade ago this month.  Yet LANL has applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to renew the permit, even though it no longer discharges.  http://nuclearactive.org/comments-needed-for-lanl-industrial-wastewater-discharge-permit/

CCNS argues that because Outfall 051 no longer discharges, it cannot have a Clean Water Act permit and must have a hazardous waste permit—one that would cover the tank systems that handle, treat and store the liquid wastes and would reduce the risks to people in the valley.

CCNS asks why a small non-governmental organization must spend its resources to require a federal regulator and a nuclear weapons facility to comply with the law.  This is happening at a time when the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is raising ongoing concerns about how LANL handles, treats, and stores transuranic, or plutonium-contaminated, waste, such as there is at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility.  DNFSB Los Alamos Week Ending October 30 2020, http://nuclearactive.org/at-lanl-four-waste-drums-discovered-containing-potentially-incompatible-chemicals/ , http://nuclearactive.org/ccns-asks-why-lanls-area-g-waste-handling-lacks-proper-safety-documents/  , https://www.dnfsb.gov/documents/letters/potential-energetic-chemical-reaction-events-involving-transuranic-waste-los

Lindsay A. Lovejoy, Jr., represents CCNS.  http://lindsaylovejoy.com/

1.December 1^st – Giving Tuesday – Please support the production and distribution of the weekly CCNS News Update and this Did You Know? Thank you!

As alternatives,

• join our amazing group of monthly contributors at http://nuclearactive.org/
• give mutual funds, stocks and securities
• give through an IRA Charitable Rollover
• leave an estate gift, such as a bequest, or other planned gift

Contact CCNS for more information at ccns@nuclearactive.org or (505) 986-1973.

2. December 2^nd and 3^rd 10:30 am – 3 pm MST – virtual U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting “to review information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) non-site-specific geologic disposal research and development (R&D) program.”  https://www.nwtrb.gov/

3.Wednesday, December 9^th from 4:30 – 6 pm MST – virtual LANL training for its Electronic Public Reading Room as required by the NM Environment Department hazardous waste permit for LANL, Section 1.10. For more information:  envoutreach@lanl.gov or call 505-667-3792.

LANL Electronic Public Reading Room and the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Electronic Public Reading Room can be accessed at http://eprr.lanl.gov.

The handbook for the Triad EPRR can be accessed at:
https://www.lanl.gov/environment/public-reading-room.php

WebEx Link: https://lanl-us.webex.com/lanlus/j.php?MTID=md7d124bec1218bd3639955cbf5421a52
Meeting No.: 133 546 9742
Video address: 1335469742@lanl-us.webex.com
PIN: EPRR
Call In No.: 1-415-655-0002
Call Access No.: 133 546 9742

On Wednesday, Chris Roscetti, the Technical Director for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, raised more red flags about the fact that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) handles, treats and stores radioactive and hazardous waste without the proper paperwork in place.  He was speaking during a virtual meeting of the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board.   Chris Rosetti Bio – Bio  and  PowerPoint in PDF form – DNSFBpowerpoint

Some paperwork has remained unresolved for years.  For example, since at least 2016, LANL does not have compliant safety documents for nuclear facilities, such as the Area G dump.  These documents, called documented safety analysis, serve to identify and analyze the hazards associated with the work.  Nuclear facilities are required to respond to the analyses in ways that will protect workers, the public and the environment.  Some elements of safety documents include fire protection calculations, computer modeling for the dispersion of contaminants, and analyses of the efficiency of the operating controls to prevent releases.  The Area G safety documents have languished since 2016 – even though LANL continues to handle, treat, and store plutonium-contaminated and hazardous waste there.

Roscetti said there are about 3,100 drums containing radioactive and hazardous waste sitting above ground at Area G.  These wastes are destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), but need to be treated or repackaged before shipment.

In fiscal year 2020, LANL sent 54 shipments to WIPP.  Most of these shipments were newly-generated waste from the fabrication of the triggers for nuclear weapons, or plutonium pits.  Each shipment to WIPP can hold 42 55-gallon steel drums.

Based on the current shipping rate, if all 3,100 above-ground drums were sent to WIPP at a maximum of 42 drums per shipment, it would take about 18 months.  But the amount of radioactivity in each drum dictates how many drums make up each shipment.   In the meantime, newly generated waste would be shipped into Area G.

In recent virtual meetings, LANL officials have been announced its plans to begin retrieving thousands of buried containers at Area G.  Those drums would most likely need to be repackaged before shipment to WIPP.  But again, the safety documents have not been developed and approved.  Safety documents address not only the repackaging and shipping operations, but also the delicate retrieval operations.  There is evidence that some drums have corroded.

CCNS asks why LANL is allowed to continue to operate Area G when safety basis documents have not been properly updated – in the case of Area G, nearly five years.

For more information about the issues discussed in this Update:

CCNS News Update, dated November 13, 2020 – http://nuclearactive.org/at-lanl-four-waste-drums-discovered-containing-potentially-incompatible-chemicals/

Government Accountability Office – Report to Congressional Committees – Nuclear Safety Report “DOE and Safety Board Should Collaborate to Develop a Written Agreement to Enhance Oversight,” GAO-21-141, dated October 29, 2020 – https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-141

Memorandum of Understanding between U.S. DOE and DNFSB Working Group Charter, dated October 21, 2020 – https://www.dnfsb.gov/board-activities/board-member-testimonies-speeches-and-other-public-statements/memorandum

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation about proposed changes to DOE about the federal Nuclear Safety Requirements, 10 CFR 830, dated February 21, 2020 – https://www.dnfsb.gov/board-activities/recommendations/10-cfr-830-nuclear-safety-requirements

To begin, the new shaft at WIPP has been stopped!!!  On November 18, 2020, the New Mexico Environment Department denied the DOE/Nuclear Waste Partnership’s request for an extension of the temporary authorization allowing the excavation of a new shaft.  2020-11-18-RPD_HWB_WIPP_TA_Reissuance_Response_(Final)-1

THANK YOU to everyone who submitted public comments opposing the new shaft!  Together we are making a difference!

1. THIS EVENING!!! Thursday, November 19^th from 5:30 – 6:45 pm –

   Community Focused Conversation about Uranium Contamination in New Mexico.  Speakers include:  Manny Pino, Laguna-Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment (LACSE); June L. Lorenzo, LACSE; Laura Watchempino, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE); Terry Keyanna, Red Water Pond Road Community Association; and Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM).  Hosted by the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.

            To register, please click on this link:

https://nmelc-ej-series-uranium.eventbrite.com

If for any reason you are unable to access the zoom,

you can also watch live on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/NMELC

2. December 1^st – Giving Tuesday – Please include CCNS in your giving to support the weekly CCNS News Update and the social media network through which we distribute the Update and this Did You Know?  Thank you!

3. December 2^nd and 3^rd  10:30 am – 3 pm MST – virtual U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting “to review information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) non-site-specific geologic disposal research and development (R&D) program.”  https://www.nwtrb.gov/

In September, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board once again raised red flags about the way Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is handling waste drums with the potential for energetic chemical reactions.  https://www.dnfsb.gov/documents/letters/potential-energetic-chemical-reaction-events-involving-transuranic-waste-los  Their concerns were further heightened with the mid-October discovery of four drums containing radioactive transuranic, or plutonium-contaminated, waste mixed with potentially incompatible chemical waste, which were not properly documented.  One drum was stored outside at the Plutonium Facility and the other three inside the Transuranic Waste Facility.  Upon discovery, the three drums were promptly moved to outdoor storage pads at the Plutonium Facility.  Los Alamos Week Ending October 16 2020

The Board is concerned about the lack of uniformity in the safety documents for facilities that generate, treat, and store radioactive and hazardous waste.  For instance, the safety documents for the Transuranic Waste Facility require waste drums to be stored inside.  But when the three drums were shipped to the Plutonium Facility, those safety documents allowed the drums to be stored outside.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is revising its standard for storage and treatment of transuranic wastes.  In January, the Board sent a letter and technical report to the DOE Secretary about issues that need to be addressed in the revised standard.  5506 Status Letter [2020-100-016] This recent event again demonstrates the need for consistency in the safety documents for all the facilities that handle, treat and store transuranic waste.

A facility of particular concern for CCNS and the Board is the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at LANL, which handles, treats and stores liquid and solid transuranic and low-level radioactive and hazardous waste.  For nearly 50 years, LANL intentionally discharged treated waters through Outfall 051 into a tributary to Mortandad Canyon.  In November 2010, LANL stopped the discharge and began evaporating the treated liquids into the air.

Currently, LANL is applying to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Clean Water Act discharge permit.  LANL is asking permission to keep Outfall 051 on the permit even though it has not discharged for a decade.  The Clean Water Act requires a discharge in order to issue a permit.  But if LANL can keep Outfall 051 on the permit, it can avoid regulation by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal hazardous waste law.  http://nuclearactive.org/comments-needed-for-lanl-industrial-wastewater-discharge-permit/

RCRA is a comprehensive law that regulates hazardous waste from cradle to grave through a transportation manifest system.  It also regulates operations, including the tank systems that are used to treat the waste.  The facilities are regulated to prevent accidents, such as the fact that facilities located in Los Alamos County must meet specific seismic requirements.

Long story short, CCNS is seriously considering filing a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that dismisses CCNS’s claims that because LANL has not discharged from Outfall 051, it is not entitled to a Clean Water Act permit.  CCNS argues that the proper regulatory scheme for this LANL facility is the hazardous waste laws.

Additional supporting information:

*  CCNS Oct. 8, 2020 CCNS News Update – scroll down to about half way down the page for information about the Sept. 24, 2020 DNFSB letter and report:

http://nuclearactive.org/citizens-hearing-held-at-new-mexico-capitol-about-increased-plutonium-pit-production-at-lanl/

*  WIPP and Idaho National Laboratory explosions involving waste drums containing transuranic and incompatible chemicals are well documented.  The Board’s September 24, 2020 letter and technical report reference recent examples of exploding waste drums.  The first is the February 14, 2014 explosion of one or more waste drums in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground that were improperly packaged at LANL.

The contamination spread through the underground and up the ventilation shaft.  A plume was tracked over 100 miles to the northeast from the WIPP site, located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The second is the April 2018 explosion of four drums containing radioactive sludge waste at the Idaho National Laboratory.  The waste generated methane gas and due to the over-pressurization, the drum lids blew off.  The waste was generated at Rocky Flats, near Denver, and shipped in the 1960s to the Idaho site for storage.  INL Monthly Ending March 2018 and INL Monthly Ending April 2018.

Did You Know about These Opportunities to Get Involved?

1. TONIGHT!!! Thursday, November 12^th – NMED Virtual Community Engagement Meeting Notice about LANL from 5:30 to 7 pm.  Brief updates about the proposed venting of tritium-containing mixed waste and the contamination found in the Middle DP Road. 

2. Wednesday, November 18^th at 1:30 pm – DNFSB Acting Chairman Thomas A. Summers will be presenting virtually for 45 minutes to the No. NM Citizens’ Advisory Board. Please see the attached agenda for more information and WebEx connection.  The meeting is scheduled for 1 pm to 4:30 pm.

Other important presentations include updates from Env’l Mgmt Los Alamos (Kirk Lachman/Lee Bishop); N3B (Joe Legare); NMED Hazardous Waste Bureau (Ricardo Maestas); and Rendija Canyon (Pete Maggiore).  November Board Meeting Agenda_Final

3. December 1^st – Giving Tuesday – Please include CCNS in your giving to support the weekly CCNS News Update and the social media network through which we distribute the Update and this Did You Know? Thank you!

As the end of the year approaches, the New Mexico Environment Department and Los Alamos National Laboratory are hosting a number of virtual meetings to gather public input.  The Environment Department is asking for discussion topics for its Thursday, November 12^th, Community Engagement Meeting. HWB-RPD-PN-English-LANL-Nov-12-Meeting-1and HWB-RPD_PN-SPANISH_LANL-Nov-12-Meeting They will also present two issues of concern.  The first is the proposed venting of radioactive and biologically damaging tritium into the air.  The other concerns the discoveries of LANL radioactive and hazardous waste in the vicinity of two housing projects under construction on land the Department of Energy (DOE) turned over to Los Alamos County on Middle DP Road.

Los Alamos County is building senior and low-income housing on Middle DP Road, near downtown Los Alamos.  They encountered the contaminated waste while digging trenches for sewer lines.  https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/10/20/county-council-requests-briefing-from-department-of-energy-on-dp-road-situation-lanl-site-plan-and-more/ , https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/09/30/maggiore-speaks-asks-for-doe-triad-presentations-on-dp-road/ , https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/09/29/site-plan-approved-for-dp-road-low-income-senior-housing-project-despite-concerns-of-two-planning-zoning-commissioners/ , https://ladailypost.com/latest-construction-scene-at-canyon-walk-apartments-on-dp-road/, https://ladailypost.com/scenes-from-canyon-walk-apartments-under-construction-on-dp-road/ , https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/07/19/doe-responds-to-nmed-concerns-about-lack-of-plan-for-contaminated-materials-unearthed-at-middle-dp-road-since-february/ , https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/06/25/los-alamos-county-announces-more-contaminated-material-found-on-dp-road-wednesday/ , https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/06/18/nmed-tells-doe-widespread-waste-at-dp-road-represents-substantial-risk-to-human-health-environment/

On Thursday, November 5^th, LANL held its promised second virtual public information session on the venting of 114,000 curies of radioactive tritium.  https://lanl.gov/environment/flanged-tritium-waste-containers.shtml

Uncertainty surrounds when LANL plans to vent, if the proposal is approved.  At possibly the same time, the Santa Fe National Forest plans to burn piles of woody debris in the forests surrounding LANL in the Coyote, Cuba, Española, Jemez, and Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger Districts.  https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/santafe/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD841371

Another topic for the November 12^th, meeting may include the Environment Department’s 2016 Consent, or Cleanup, Order.  https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/lanl/  Under the Order, the parties have annual discussions about what cleanup will be done during the next three years.  But the president’s fiscal year 2021 budget for LANL calls for slashing the cleanup in half with a $100 million dollar cut, thus limiting the amount of work that could be accomplished.

LANL then provided a deficient cleanup plan to the Environment Department.  On October 1^st, the Environment Department invoked the Consent Order’s dispute resolution provisions for a period of 20 days HWB-LANL-Invoking-Dispute-Resolution-Appendix-B-of-CO-for-FY-2021 – HWB-LANL-DOE-Extension-Request_10-28-2020 On October 30^th, the Environment Department denied the request stating that DOE “has not provided [the Environment Department] with documentation of any formal actions it has initiated to assure adequate funding for the necessary activities over the next three years.”  Further, in relationship to the funding, the Environment Department wrote, “DOE indicated that other environmental regulatory obligations may be of greater budgetary priority than those obligations under the 2016 [Consent Order].”  HWB-LANL-Denial-Extension-Request-for-Dispute-Resolution-Period_10-30-2020-1  

Now the next level of dispute resolution will begin.  The Designated Agency Managers must submit a written position statement within ten business days to the other managers, and then schedule a meeting within 15 days of receipt of the statement.

To submit your concerns and discussion topics, please contact Chris Catechis, the Environment Department DOE Oversight Bureau Chief, by email to  chris.catechis@state.nm.us or call him at 505 388-4639.

On Wednesday, December 16^th, LANL will host its second public meeting about stormwater compliance under the federal Clean Water Act permit.  https://ext.em-la.doe.gov/ips

Did You Know about These Opportunities to Get Involved?

1. TONIGHT!!! Thursday, November 5^th from 5 to 7 pm – Second Virtual Public Information Session on Proposed Tritium Venting at LANL – https://lanl.gov/environment/flanged-tritium-waste-containers.shtml or see attached NNSA announcement about how to connect to the meeting.

NNSA Tritium Venting Announcement 10-27-20

2. Wednesday, November 11^th – Armistice Day, aka Veterans’ Day. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day?link_id=9&can_id=c1eea811ee2a0dd79247a2e55af29e43&source=email-big-plans-remembrance-armistice-day-2&email_referrer=email_973942&email_subject=armistice-day-is-coming

3.         Thursday, November 12^th – NMED Virtual Community Engagement Meeting Notice about LANL from 5:30 to 7 pm.  Brief updates about the proposed venting of tritium-containing mixed waste and the contamination found in the Middle DP Road. 

Why is Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to renew a discharge permit for facilities that stopped discharging treated industrial wastewater to the environment years ago?  Maybe because having as many as five facilities covered by a Clean Water Act permit provides an exemption from complying with the more protective hazardous waste laws.  These facilities handle, treat and store hazardous waste and should be regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or the federal hazardous waste laws.  Public comments are due to EPA on Monday, November 2^nd.  https://www.epa.gov/nm/lanl-industrial-wastewater-permit-draft-permit-no-nm0028355-0  A sample public comment to EPA that you can use to is available here – EPA comment for LANL industrial discharges 10-29-20 .

Every five years or so, the EPA begins a process to renew the LANL permit to allow it to discharge industrial wastewater from pipes, or outfalls, into the environment from 11 facilities.  The Clean Water Act jurisdiction covers the intentional discharge of pollutants from an outfall.  It does not address accidental leaks of hazardous liquid wastewater or regulate the construction of treatment and storage facilities as required by the hazardous waste laws.  Up to five facilities that handle hazardous waste remain on the permit even though they no longer have discharges.

One such facility is the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility.  This key facility, located across the street from the Plutonium Facility, treats liquid radioactive and hazardous waste contaminated by the fabrication of plutonium pits, or the triggers, for nuclear weapons.  In 1963, discharges began through Outfall 051 into a tributary of Mortandad Canyon.  In the late 1990’s LANL instituted a “zero liquid discharge” plan to eliminate the discharge.  LANL RLWTF Zero Dischg Project 7-10-1998   LANL was aware it could lose the Clean Water Act exemption, which would put it under the more stringent hazardous waste laws.

“However, the potential for exposure to increased RCRA regulatory coverage with zero discharge underscores the need for better administration and documentation of compliance with Waste Acceptance Characterization] WAC requirements.” Elimination of Liquid Discharge to the Environment from the TA-50 Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, LA-13452-MS, UC-902, June 1998, p 12.

https://www.osti.gov/biblio/661523-elimination-liquid-discharge-environment-from-ta-radioactive-liquid-waste-treatment-facility

Some examples of the safety requirements that would apply for all of the operations of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility include the operation and integrity of the tanks, tank systems, and pipes and pipe connections; characterization of hazardous waste; monitoring and inspections; and compliance with seismic standards.

The facility stopped discharging through Outfall 051 in November 2010 when the conversion to zero liquid discharge was complete.  Nevertheless, EPA continues to recognize Outfall 051 as qualifying LANL for regulation under the Clean Water Act and thus exempts it from the more protective hazardous waste laws.

At least four outfalls remain on the permit even though they also have not discharged for years. These are the Strategic Computing Complex (no discharge between September 2016 and to at least May 2019); the Los Alamos Neutron Science Complex, or LANSCE, (facility cooling towers are no longer in use); the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (treated water being “discharged” to the Sanitary Wastewater System (SWWS) Plant); and the High Explosive Wastewater Treatment Facility (since November 2007 an electric evaporator(s) has been in use).

1. TONIGHT!!! Thursday, October 29^th from 6 to 8 pm – Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) Semi-Annual Public Meeting about their environmental programs and the proposed SNL Chemical Waste Landfill Post-Closure Care Permit Renewal.  For more information, the meeting agendas and presentations:

SNL – https://www.sandia.gov/about/environment/environmental_management_system/public_meetings.html

KAFB – https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/

2. Friday, October 30^th – Cold War Patriots 12^th National Day of Remembrance – Virtual Ceremony. Register at https://coldwarpatriots.org/

3. Monday, November 2^nd – public comments due to EPA about two draft discharge permits for LANL under the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Sample public comments you can use available at http://nuclearactive.org/.

4. Tuesday, November 3^rd – VOTE!

5. Tuesday, November 3^rd – Comments due to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about the proposed consolidated interim storage facility at Waste Control Specialists/Interim Storage Partners (WCS/ISP) for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants on the TX/NM border, five miles east of Eunice, NM.  Information and sample public comments available here:  http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ , http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste/ , https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2020/09/high-level-radioactive-waste-dump-could-come-texas , and https://www.nirs.org/campaigns/dont-waste-america/

6. Thursday, November 5^th from 5 to 7 pm – Second Virtual Public Information Session on Proposed Tritium Venting at LANL – https://lanl.gov/environment/flanged-tritium-waste-containers.shtml or see attached NNSA announcement.

NNSA Tritium Venting Announcement 10-27-20

Due to the myriad of technical flaws that occurred during the October 20^th virtual meeting on the proposed and controversial venting of 114,000 Curies of radioactive tritium from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Department of Energy (DOE) committed to holding a second virtual meeting.  It may be held as early as next Tuesday, October 27^th.  CCNS will post alerts on our social media network once a date and time has been determined.

Over 150 people attended the virtual meeting.  Many people left early due to the uncontrollable feedback and a variety of problems with the powerpoint.  The session was recorded.  If requested, the session will be translated into Spanish.  The PowerPoint and other information are available at https://www.lanl.gov/environment/ , under “Resources.”

Pete Maggiore, a Senior Advisor and Acting DOE Assistant Manager at LANL, hosted the meeting.  The meeting was held only to receive public comments and questions.  DOE did not provide responses.  Maggiore hoped to respond to all comments in writing before the next virtual meeting.

Brian Watkins, a subject matter expert, presented a 14-slide PowerPoint.  https://www.lanl.gov/environment/flanged-tritium-waste-containers.php

He described the four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers, called FAT WACS, which are about 51-gallon stainless steel pressure vessels.  One FAT WAC can hold four to five smaller containers, called AL-M1s.  Watkins said only the gas in the larger container, or the headspace gas, would be vented.

After Watkins’ presentations, those who wanted to speak were given two minutes each.  Jay Coghlan, of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, observed that an analysis of alternatives to the venting has not been publicly released and that the New Mexico Environment Department has not seen it.  https://nukewatch.org/

Beata Tsosie, Coordinator of Tewa Women United’s Environmental Health and Justice Program, said she does not consent to the continuing desecration of her homelands and ancestral sites.  Because there is no safe level of exposure for tritium, Tsosie expressed her concern for pregnant women being exposed to the vented tritium.  She suggested that Indigenous and western technology and science come together to figure our how to cleanup LANL’s radioactive, toxic and hazardous waste mess.  https://tewawomenunited.org/

Cynthia Naha said that the federal government had not fulfilled its trust responsibilities to the Pueblos as evidenced by the fact that the downstream Pueblos of Cochiti, San Felipe, and Santa Ana had not heard anything about the proposed venting.

Dee Finney, a public health nurse living 20 miles downwind of LANL, expressed concern about emergency preparedness and notification procedures during the pandemic. She asked whether there is an evacuation plan.  She also asked to see the analysis of alternatives to venting.

Leona Morgan, a co-founder of the Albuquerque-based Nuclear Issues Study Group, said she does not consent to the venting, which she described as an example of environmental racism.  https://www.facebook.com/NuclearIssuesStudyGroup/

Carol Miller, a public health advocate, summarized the feelings of many of the commenters by saying, “We don’t want it.”

Cindy Weehler, a retired chemistry teacher, said that while LANL claims it is a “world class laboratory,” the virtual meeting was operated like the Keystone Cops.  She pointed to LANL’s failure in allowing the drums to become pressurized and said the penalty should belong to LANL.  She said, “This is your fault, not the public’s.  Someone at LANL made a poor decision,” and LANL needs to make decisions now that won’t harm the public.

Joni Arends, of CCNS, asked what plan LANL has for when the international Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect. https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

Forty-seven nation states or countries have signed and ratified the Treaty – only three more are needed for it to go into effect.  https://www.icanw.org/

The Treaty was modeled after the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (or Mine Ban Convention) https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/landmines/

and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/chemical/  , which challenged countries that still possessed those weapons.  Arends asked how LANL would address the economic harm that could occur to the workers, families and communities that have supported LANL once the Treaty goes into effect.  She asked again, “What’s the plan?”  http://nuclearactive.org/

To submit your comments electronically to LANL, email FTWC_publicinfo@lanl.gov.

Did You Know about These Opportunities to Get Involved?

1. Saturday, October 24^th – NM Environment Department’s Temporary Authorization (TA) for construction of the new Shaft and underground disposal rooms at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) expires. Criteria for issuing TAs require that the project be completed within 180 days.

The Department of Energy and WIPP asked for the reissuance of the 180-day temporary authorization.  What will NMED do?  Violate the procedural due process rights of groups like CCNS who asked for a public hearing about the new shaft?  or proceed ahead with DOE/WIPP requests for reissuance of the temporary authorizations for another 180 days?  Comments to the NMED Hazardous Waste Bureau Chief Kevin Pierard – Kevin.Pierard@state.nm.us

2. Monday, October 26^th at 3 pm (virtual public meeting) and 6 pm (virtual public hearing) about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft permit for over 400 sites at LANL with the potential to discharge pollutants during stormwater events. To see the public notice, the draft permit, along with information about registering for the virtual meetings – https://www.epa.gov/nm/lanl-storm-water-individual-permit-draft-permit-no-nm0030759

            To register for the public meeting:  https://www.epa.gov/nm/forms/registration-form-virtual-public-meeting

            To register for the public hearing – which is required by Friday, October 23^rd if you want to submit an oral statement and data about the proposed permit: https://www.epa.gov/nm/forms/registration-form-virtual-public-hearing

Public comments due on Monday, November 2^nd – see No. 5 below.

3. Thursday, October 29^th from 6 to 8 pm – Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) Semi-Annual Public Meeting about their environmental programs and the proposed SNL Chemical Waste Landfill Post-Closure Care Permit Renewal. For more information, the meeting agendas and presentations:

SNL – https://www.sandia.gov/about/environment/environmental_management_system/public_meetings.html

KAFB – https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/

4. Friday, October 30^th – Cold War Patriots 12^th National Day of Remembrance – Virtual Ceremony. Register at https://coldwarpatriots.org/

5. Monday, November 2^nd – public comments due to EPA about two draft discharge permits for LANL under the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Sample public comments you can use will be available at http://nuclearactive.org/ after the October 26^th EPA public meeting and hearing.

6. Tuesday, November 3^rd – VOTE!

7. Tuesday, November 3^rd – Comments due to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about the proposed consolidated interim storage facility at Waste Control Specialists/Interim Storage Partners (WCS/ISP) for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants on the TX/NM border, five miles east of Eunice, NM.  Information and sample public comments available here:  http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ , http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste/ , https://www.sierraclub.org/texas/blog/2020/09/high-level-radioactive-waste-dump-could-come-texas , and https://www.nirs.org/campaigns/dont-waste-america/

During the devastating global pandemic government plans are proceeding to expose the public to more radiation generated by the nuclear industrial complex.  There are actions you can take to stop the two proposals.  The first is by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to vent 114,000 Curies of radioactive tritium into the air, and the other, is by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reinterpret its own regulations that would allow “low-level” radioactive waste to be dumped in unlicensed and unregulated facilities.  Public comments are due to the NRC on Wednesday, October 21^st.  https://www.nrc.gov/waste/llw-disposal/transfer-vllw.html

On Tuesday, October 20^th at 5 pm Mountain Daylight Time, LANL is hosting a virtual public information session about its proposed venting of radioactive tritium.  To register for the phone-in and WebEx event, please email your name and organization to FTWC_publicinfo@lanl.gov. LANL Media Advisory FTWC 10-8-20

LANL announced its plans to vent in early March.  Extraordinary public opposition met those plans.  http://nuclearactive.org/take-action-lanl-plans-to-release-radioactive-tritium/ (9/10/20);  http://nuclearactive.org/lanl-plans-to-release-twice-the-amount-of-tritium-allowed/ (3/26/20); https://tewawomenunited.org/?s=tritium+venting

LANL withdrew its proposal.  http://nuclearactive.org/lanl-postpones-tritium-releases-due-to-global-pandemic/ (4/2/20)

LANL has asked the New Mexico Environment Department for a temporary authorization to conduct the venting.  CCNS objects to the issuance of a temporary authorization because it ignores the required public process.  Further, a temporary authorization is only good for 180 days.  There are several other, and larger, tritium-venting projects required by LANL contracts.  The current proposal is an attempt to piecemeal the venting work instead of revealing the scope of the entire project now.

On October 1^st, Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and Representative Ben Ray Lujan wrote to LANL urging that a public information meeting be held for the local communities and Pueblos.  The letter recognizes the “difficulty accessing the Internet and lack of broadband in many communities in New Mexico,” which is another reason why the venting should not take place now. Letter LANL FTWC 10.01.2020

The NRC has been working for decades to allow for the disposal of “low-level” radioactive waste in unlicensed and unregulated facilities located across the country.  Previous proposals were named “Below Regulatory Concern.”  The latest proposal is named “Very Low-Level.”  This waste could include:  entire nuclear reactors and activated metal components and pipes from the reactor core. Other items could include radioactive gloves and booties contaminated with plutonium, cesium, strontium, and dozens of other biologically dangerous radioactive elements.

NRC’s proposal has the potential to let all of that waste be sent to general, or municipal, landfills, hazardous waste landfills, and incinerators.  However, contaminated metals may be recycled into consumer products.  https://www.nrc.gov/waste/llw-disposal/transfer-vllw.html

Colleagues at the Nuclear Information Resource Service, or NIRS, have prepared an electronic public comment that you can use to submit your comments.  https://www.nirs.org/radioactive-waste/llw/

1. Sat. Oct. 17^th – Women’s March https://womensmarch.com/

2. Tues. Oct. 20 at 5 pm – LANL Proposed Tritium Venting virtual public information session – see today’s Update.

3. Wed. Oct. 21^st at 10 am – NM Legislative Interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee virtual meeting. Topics include Carlsbad Brine Well, WIPP, Proposed Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities, and Sandia National Laboratories.  https://nmlegis.gov/Committee/Interim_Committee?CommitteeCode=RHMC

4. Wed. Oct. 21 – Comments due to NRC re: disposing of “Very Low-Level” waste in ordinary landfills, hazardous waste landfills, or in incinerators – see today’s Update.  Sample public comment available at https://www.nirs.org/radioactive-waste/llw/

5. Wed. October 21^st – Comments due to NNSA about the scope of the new Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (located 50 miles east of San Francisco, CA).  For more information and a sample public comment letter, go to http://trivalleycares.org/

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approved its plans to increase plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) by 50 percent as a way to comply with what is described in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review as a need for “an effective, responsive, and resilient nuclear weapons infrastructure” that can “adapt flexibly to shifting requirements.”

The Pentagon has stated it needs annual production of 80 plutonium pits, the triggers for nuclear weapons.  The DOE has approved its Supplement Analyses for four possible ways to execute this upgrade.  At LANL, DOE proposes upgrades to both LANL’s Plutonium Facility and the Radiological Laboratory Utility and Office Building which is part of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) Project.

Despite a mission that has been re-directed and an expansion involving about $15 billion in upgrades for two major buildings and related infrastructure, DOE has decided not to undertake a new Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for LANL.  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/doeeis-0380-sa-06-final-supplement-analysis and https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/doeeis-0380-amended-record-decision  Neither our congressional delegation nor our Governor has voiced disapproval of bypassing the SWEIS.

On Wednesday afternoon, October 7th, a citizens’ hearing was held outside the New Mexico State Capitol Building. Testimony was taken about DOE’s dramatic expansion plans for LANL that involve an installation of the size and importance and with the attendant dangers of the closed nuclear weapons plant at Rocky Flats, Colorado. The event, which provided a place for dozens of citizens to express their opposition to DOE’s plans in Northern New Mexico, was sponsored by the Los Alamos Study Group.  http://www.lasg.org/

The DOE proposals are too broad and too expensive to go forward without an SWEIS with public review and comment opportunities.

Every day, new information is released about the increased hazards at LANL.  This week the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board issued a new report about the inconsistent and inappropriate consideration of potential energetic chemical reactions, or explosions, involving transuranic waste stored at LANL.  The Board conducted an analysis of transuranic, or plutonium-contaminated, wastes stored at the Plutonium Facility, the old Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Facility, the Transuranic Waste Facility, and Area G and the potential for explosions.  It found that LANL has not fully analyzed for possible explosions involving transuranic waste stored at these facilities that would result in high exposures to workers and the public.  https://www.dnfsb.gov/documents/reports/technical-reports/potential-energetic-chemical-reaction-events-involving

The Board asked DOE to respond within 120 days.

1.  Two more Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) teleconference public meetings about the Waste Control Specialists/Interim Storage Partners (WCS/ISP) proposal to bring 40,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants by rail to the west Texas/New Mexico border, five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico. For more information, fact sheets, transportation maps, and talking points:  http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ and http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/

At the two previous public comment sessions, people spoke in opposition to both WCS/ISP and Holtec.  Both NM and TX Governors have come out in opposition to both proposals.  https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2020/10/06/texas-governor-greg-abbott-opposed-nuclear-waste-project-new-mexico/3628253001/

and  https://www.abqjournal.com/1480362/gov-argues-against-holtec-nuclear-storage-site.html

  a.  Th. October 8^th from 4 to 7 pm MST – call-in information available at:

            https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201100

   b.  Th. October 15^th from 9 am to noon MST – call-in information available at:

https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201101

Here are the call-in numbers: (888) 989-9268; Pass Code 5300047. Press *1 [star-one] as soon as you get through, or at any point, to get in line to submit verbal comments for 3-5 minutes. See NRC’s slideshow presentation here. See comprehensive action alert here. Help stop an environmentally unjust high-level nuke waste dump & thousands of Mobile Chernobyls nationwide!

2.  Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day – Monday October 12^th events:

  a.  Sunday, Oct 11, 7 pm (Mountain Time)

Indigenous People’s Day LIVE: Wisdom, Art, & Activism

The International Indigenous Youth Council presents this virtual showcase filled with Indigenous artists, singers, dancers, activists & knowledge carriers from across Turtle Island.

   b.  Monday, Oct 12, 3:30 pm (Mountain Time)

Drive-In Event at The Downs in Santa Fe

Indigenous performers and artisans, vendors and food. Film “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” starts at 7:00 pm. Hosted by Motorama in partnership with the Santa Fe Indian Center.

3.  Wed. October 21^st – Comments due to NNSA about the scope of the new Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (located 50 miles east of San Francisco, CA). For more information and a sample public comment letter, go to http://trivalleycares.org/

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), plans are under way to remove unused plutonium fuel from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The uranium-plutonium fuel, containing around 26.4 kilograms (58.2 pounds) of weapon-grade plutonium, is called “mixed-oxide,” or MOX.  In a late-August document, DOE stated that the MOX fuel, produced in France for a program at the Savannah River Site (SRS), would be disposed of as transuranic waste and therefore go to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

At present the MOX fuel, in the form of pellets, is stored at LANL’s PF-4 plutonium facility.  DOE needs to empty PF-4 to have space for its planned annual production of up to eighty plutonium “pits”, or triggers, for nuclear weapons.

The DOE proposal to dispose of the useless MOX fuel pellets is unprecedented, but has been subjected to only a brief mention in an environmental analysis on pit production.  Tom Clements, director of SRS Watch, says, “The analysis conducted on the disposal of the plutonium fuel is totally inadequate and a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be conducted before any repackaging and shipment to WIPP. ”

One of Clements’ concerns about security of the disposal of MOX fuel pellets at WIPP is that safeguards on the material would be terminated and the weapon-grade plutonium would receive less monitoring.  Clements says, “As the MOX pellets contain enough purified plutonium for perhaps 10 nuclear weapons, steps must be taken to prevent access to the material during both repackaging and disposal.”

Clements believes the material must remain in secure storage at LANL’s PF-4 until a full EIS is prepared by DOE and the proposal is finalized.  Please see https://srswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SRS-Watch-news-on-MOX-LTAs-to-WIPP-September-23-2020.pdf for additional information and references. 

Clements also reports a second new development relating to plutonium. In a DOE fact sheet obtained on September 22, 2020, via the Freedom of Information Act, DOE revealed that 11.5 metric tons (25,353 pounds) of plutonium are stored at SRS.  DOE stated in a February 2020 letter to the SRS Citizens Advisory Board that the stored plutonium “is not posing any additional risks to communities surrounding the SRS.” Clements concurs with that assessment but says, “It appears DOE has plans to bring an additional 35 metric tons (77,162 pounds) of plutonium into South Carolina for processing, some of which could end up being stranded here as we saw with the failed MOX project.”

Clements observes that plutonium waste disposal activities are less safe than storage.  He says, “Those that claim imaginary risks of plutonium storage appear to be silent on the real long-term risks of nuclear processing and radioactive waste disposal activities at SRS.”  Please see https://srswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SRSW-news-on-SRS-plutonium-inventory-Sep-29-2020.pdf for additional information and references.   

1. Four Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) teleconference public meetings about the Waste Control Specialists/Interim Storage Partners proposal to bring 40,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants by rail to the west Texas/New Mexico border, five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico. For more information, fact sheets, transportation maps, and talking points:  http://nonuclearwasteaqui.org/ 

   a. Th. October 1^st from 4 to 7 pm MDT –   https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201097

      Teleconference: Bridge Number  (888) 989-9268  Pass Code 5300047

      Important:  Press *1 as soon as you get through, which allows you to talk when it’s your turn.

     Webinar: https://usnrc.webex.com/ 

Meeting number 199 125 5213

Password ISPDEIS

    b. Tues. October 6^th from noon to 3 pm MST   https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201099

   c. Th. October 8^th from 4 to 7 pm MST    https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201100

    d. Th. October 15^th from 9 am to noon MST   https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20201101

2. Fri. Oct. 2^nd – UN General Assembly will hold a High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Get Involved!  A sample letter you can send to your government encouraging them to participate in the October 2 meeting is available at https://www.unfoldzero.org/26-september-2020/#social   Names, emails, and twitter handles are also available.

On September 17th, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a ruling on the legal challenge to temporarily authorize construction of a new shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).  The Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had thrown out the challenge.  Now, the Court of Appeals must proceed with considering the case.  But construction on the new shaft continues under the temporary authorization.  https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/ scroll down to June 12, 2020 entries.   

The legal action was filed by Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) to overturn the authorization and stop the shaft construction.  http://www.sric.org/nuclear/wipp_litigation.php  On June 11th, the Court of Appeals dismissed the case.  The Appeals Court agreed with the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy (DOE) that the Court had no jurisdiction because the Environment Department had made no final decision to change the WIPP permit to allow the new shaft.  Now the Court of Appeals can take further action, which could include a ruling on a request to stop the construction, or the court could require additional briefs.

The fundamental question in the litigation is whether the Environment Department has illegally decided to issue a temporary authorization for the new shaft, since it has not held a required public hearing on a permit modification request for the new shaft.

SRIC, with support from hundreds of commenters on the draft permit, says that allowing the construction to begin has tainted the required public review, comment, and hearing process about whether the shaft should be permitted.  The Environment Department says that it  has not made a final decision to approve the new shaft and that the construction could be halted and reversed months after the construction began.  The new shaft is to be 30-feet in diameter and 2,200 feet deep.  Construction is expected to take 37 months.

On September 9th, before the Supreme Court’s order, DOE requested an additional 180-day temporary authorization to continue the new shaft construction. SRIC and others who have requested a hearing on the draft permit,  including CCNS, have strongly objected to the additional authorization and asked the Environment Department to stop the construction.

According to SRIC’s Don Hancock, “The new shaft would allow additional new underground rooms to physically expand WIPP for more waste than is legally allowed and for new types of waste.  The new shaft is one essential part of the DOE ‘Forever WIPP’ plan that many New Mexicans

oppose. ”

At nuclearactive.org, you can find a sample comment letter to tell the Environment Department that you object to a new authorization before the required public hearing process is completed.  WIPP New Shaft Comment Ltr 9-24-20

Did You Know Saturday, September 26^th is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons?   

A number of international organizations have joined together to establish #WeThePeoples2020, a platform for promotion of key UN and civil society events surrounding the 75^th anniversary of the United Nations, especially those between the International Day for Peace on September 21 (which is also the date of the UN 75^th Anniversary High Level Event) and the International Day of Nonviolence on October 2.

As part of its 11 Days of Global Unity, a number of international events and calls to action are taking place.  A calendar of events at https://www.unfoldzero.org/events/2020-09-21/   Here are a few:

Sat. Sept. 26^th – #WeThePeoples2020 and UNFOLD ZERO at https://mailchi.mp/unfoldzero/action-call-for-the-un-day-to-eliminate-nuclear-weapons?e=a35e310f72

There will be two Parts to accommodate different time zones. Part 1 is for folks in Asia/Pacific time zones.  Part 2 is for folks in Americas/Europe/Africa time zones, beginning at 11 am EDT, 9 am MDT.

Each Part will have three sessions.

Session 1: 10-12 presentations on nuclear disarmament issues
Session 2: Practical workshops on key approaches to nuclear disarmament, including using the arts, how to move the nuclear weapons budgets/investments to better things, and engaging key communities including youth, faith-based communities and policy makers.
Session 3: A panel discussion followed by Q&A on how to move the nuclear-armed states to relinquish nuclear deterrence and achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.

For more information, go to:  https://mailchi.mp/unfoldzero/action-call-for-the-un-day-to-eliminate-nuclear-weapons?e=a35e310f72

Fri. Oct. 2^nd – UN General Assembly will hold a High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.  A sample letter you can send to your government encouraging them to participate in the October 2 meeting is available at https://www.unfoldzero.org/26-september-2020/#social   Names, emails, and twitter handles are also available.