New Mexico Takes Action to Support Clean-up at LANL; Submit Your Comments by Monday, June 8th
On Thursday, April 23rd, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued a draft permit modification to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in order to speed up cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and focus on the disposal of legacy waste at WIPP. The draft Hazardous Waste Act permit proposes to require a minimum percentage of legacy waste shipments from LANL to WIPP during specific timeframes beginning on January 1, 2027.
NMED’s action would help stop LANL’s plans to leave one million cubic meters of radioactive and hazardous waste buried in unlined pits, trenches and shafts in the volcanic tuff in a seismic zone above the regional drinking water aquifer and the Rio Grande. The action, if approved, would limit waste from new plutonium pit production that could be shipped to WIPP.
CCNS and the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition support NMED’s action and urge you to submit your public comments by Monday, June 8th. The Stop Forever WIPP Coalition opposes the expansion of WIPP for newly generated LANL waste from plutonium pit production. CCNS is a member group. https://stopforeverwipp.org/home
Some of the NMED proposed permit provisions include:
- From January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2031, at least 55 percent of the total volume of all waste shipped to WIPP for disposal must be LANL legacy waste;
- Beginning January 1, 2032, at least 75 percent must be LANL legacy waste;
- Legacy waste at LANL’s Area G that is stored above-ground must be shipped by July 1, 2028; and
- If the requirements are not met, all non-LANL shipments must cease until all deficiencies are cured.
How did we get here? In June of 2023, members of the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition, NMED, DOE, the WIPP contractor, and other citizen groups and businesses met to negotiate permit conditions to ensure WIPP’s continued operations. Those provisions provided greater state oversight, required prioritization of legacy waste in New Mexico and protections for the People and Lands of New Mexico. For more information, go to https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/, scroll down to “WIPP News – 2023” and view the October 4, 2023 entry.
Written public comments may be submitted until 5 pm Mountain Time on Monday, June 8, 2026. For more information about the NMED draft Permit, Public Notice and Fact Sheet, go to https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/, scroll down to “WIPP News – 2026” and view the April 23, 2026 entry.
Submit your comments by email to HWB-WIPP-Comment@env.nm.gov or use the WIPP Agency Initiated Modification (AIM) Draft Permit Public Comment Portal at https://nmed.commentinput.com/?id=x2V7G3HrWN
- Held and Upcoming DOE/NNSA PUBLIC HEARINGS about the draft Plutonium Pit Production Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) (five public hearings in total)
1. North Augusta, South Carolina on Tuesday, May 5th – Completed with informed public opposition to DOE’s plans.
2. Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday, May 7th – no virtual meeting option – Completed with informed public opposition to DOE’s plans.
3. Livermore, California on Tuesday, May 12th – no virtual meeting option – Completed with informed public opposition to DOE’s plans.
4. Santa Fe, New Mexico on Thursday, May 14th from 5 pm to 8 pm MT – hybrid training and public hearing focused on LANL operations.
Public Hearing Location: Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute
1607 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Comment/Hearing Training for LANL:
Wednesday, May 13th – In-Person/Hybrid at 6:00 pm MT
1420 Cerrillos Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Link for hybrid meeting TBA – go to https://pitpeis.com/comment-and-hearing-resources/ for link.
5. Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 20th – no virtual meeting option.
Public Meeting Location: Southwest Library
Large Meeting Room
900 Wesley Place SW
Washington, DC 20024
For more information: https://pitpeis.com/comment-and-hearing-resources/
- Friday, May 15th from noon to 1 pm –
Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval in Santa Fe for the weekly peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.
- Monday, April 27th to Friday, May 22nd –
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) at the United Nations in New York. At a time of renewed nuclear arms racing, increasing threats of nuclear weapons use, and risks of further nuclear proliferation, Legislators (mayors and parliamentarians) and civil society activists, including Abolition 2000 member groups, will also be at the 2026 NPT Review Conference advocating for concrete measures to reduce nuclear risks and advance nuclear abolition. Abolition 2000 is a global network to eliminate nuclear weapons: No Nukes, No War. You can participate virtually! A list of events available at: https://www.abolition2000.org/events/
- Saturday, May 16 to Sunday, June 14th –
the Pax Christi New England Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (PCAN) will host a virtual summit dialogue in four sessions. Each will feature four to six Catholic and other faith leaders who will speak briefly, exchange ideas and field audience questions on activating Catholics to work for the global abolition of nuclear weapons. For more information and to register, go to https://paxchristima.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/PCAN-Summits-Flyer-PDF.pdf
Archbishop John Wester, Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, will be on Panel 3 on June 6, 2026. PCAN’s goals include building upon the Archbishop’s 2022 pastoral letter, Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.
Tags: Agency Initiated Modification, AIM, Area G, CCNS, Department of Energy, DOE, Hazardous Waste Act, LANL, LANL cleanup, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Environment Department, NMED, Stop Forever WIPP Coalition, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, WIPP, WIPP News
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