Please mark your calendar to attend one or more of these meetings or submit public comments before the deadlines.  Links and more information are available under Did You Know? at nuclearactive.org

TODAY, THE DOE UNCEREMONIOUSLY EXTENDED THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TO MARCH 13, 2024 FOR THE Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) proposed Chromium Interim Measure and “final” Remedy of the hexavalent chromium plume in the regional drinking water aquifer.  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2216-chromium-interim-measure-and-final-remedy-los-alamos-new-mexico  Check back at nuclearactive.org for sample public comments you can use to craft your own comments. 240208 Public Notice of Ext. of Time for Hexavalent Chromium NEPA Env’l Assessment

On Wednesday, February 13 from 6 to 9 pm the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a virtual public meeting about Certain Stormwater Discharges from Los Alamos County and LANL under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).  To register:  https://www.epa.gov/nm/forms/virtual-public-meeting-tuesday-february-132024-600-pm-800-pm-mst-revised-designation   

On Wednesday, February 14^th people who live along the radioactive transportation routes where plutonium-contaminated waste is hauled from LANL to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) will mark the 10^th anniversary of the explosion of one or more waste drums in the WIPP underground on February 14, 2014.

The event will begin at 12:45 pm at the East Entrance to the New Mexico Statehouse.  Musicians will perform songs of satire about WIPP.  Representatives from each of the 65 at-risk communities will hold a can of pinto beans that is wrapped with a radioactive symbol and the name of their community.  After the demonstration, the cans will be donated to the food bank.

At 1 pm the activities will move into the Rotunda for short statements about the communities’ concerns.  During that time, organizers will stack the 65 cans in a pyramid.  An invitation will be presented for the communities to sign up for a free presentation about current transportation issues.

The next stop will be the Governor’s office where a bouquet of roses carrying the names of the at-risk communities along the route will be presented to thank her for what she’s done and remind her that more is needed to keep New Mexicans safe.  https://stopforeverwipp.org/events/pressconference

Finally, on Thursday, February 15^th beginning at 4 pm at the Santa Fe Community College a second in-person and virtual meeting will take place about the proposed LANL Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project.  For more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/february-15th-public-meeting-about-the-proposed-lanl-electrical-line-across-the-caja-del-rio/  For more information, please visit our website at http://nuclearactive.org/ and the Caja del Rio website at https://cajadelrio.org/ .

Also, see the February 8, 2024 Santa Fe New Mexican “Our View:  Before new power line, conduct environmental impact study” in which they state an environmental impact statement is required – not the inadequate environmental assessment.  See below to read the Our View.

On Tuesday, February 20^th public comments due about the proposed LANL Electrical Power Upgrade Project.  Please check back at nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own.

Our View – February 8, 2024

Before new power line, conduct environmental impact study

• The New Mexican

More public comment about a proposed 14-mile high-voltage transmission line for Los Alamos National Laboratory is scheduled next week.

Critics of the power line — rightly — said 30 days of public comment, over the winter holidays, wouldn’t be enough time to gather feedback on this controversial proposal. The Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management all are involved in planning.

We supported additional public comment, which addresses concerns about the line, designed to connect the laboratory to additional power officials say will be needed in the years ahead. However, the public comment being taken concerns the environmental assessment conducted to determine the impact of a 115,000-volt line, complete with transmission towers, on sensitive lands.

Already, after reading the initial assessment — required before a special permit can be issued — it is clear a more detailed environmental impact statement should be mandated before the project can go forward. The second public comment hearing, scheduled Feb. 15 at Santa Fe Community College, must not be the final word on the proposed line.

A number of concerns exist about the proposal in its current form.

The line would cut a 100-foot-wide swath along its route going from the lab through White Rock Canyon, then south through the already besieged Caja del Rio area and winding east through the Santa Fe National Forest before reaching a substation. But that doesn’t take into account the construction right of way, which is 200 feet wide along with several 2- to 5-acre staging sites, according to the environmental assessment.

Construction also would require 1.69 miles of new road construction, although single-lane dirt roads exist near much of the proposed line. According to the assessment, cultural resources will be avoided to the “maximum extent possible,” but a deeper study of the impacts of this project would detail how — or if — that is possible. Tribes affected by the power line must be part of this discussion.

An environmental impact study also could look more closely at how the proposed lines might impact wildlife, including bird migrations. While the assessment claims it won’t affect, for example, the migration of sandhill cranes — listing fall and spring as migration months — anyone who looks outside right now can see the birds. They are in our neighborhood in winter. The Audubon Society says sandhill cranes can be at high risk of flying into lines.

The scope of this project is massive. It deserves a full-blown environmental impact study, both to examine effects during construction and of the line’s operation on the environment but also to look at alternatives to building an entirely new line.

According to the assessment, “LANL requires a reliable and redundant electrical power supply to support mission programs and other activities at LANL facilities.” Forecasts predict existing transmission lines serving the lab and Los Alamos County could reach capacity before 2027.

Instead of an entirely new line, a more environmentally friendly alternative might look like this: Use solar power on site. It would require 400 to 500 acres, but that could be achieved not by digging up land but by siting solar panels on parking lots and buildings, adding battery storage to ensure continual power. The lab has plenty of parking lots and buildings.

If more power is still needed, a smaller power line could be built along existing lines — that’s a more environmentally friendly solution. It’s better for wildlife, especially migrating birds, and would reduce cultural and recreational disturbance. That’s a discussion for another day, though. Right now the 14-mile proposal is up for debate. Show up and comment. Demand a full environmental impact statement. The people, land and creatures of Northern New Mexico deserve no less.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/editorials/before-new-power-line-conduct-environmental-impact-study/article_88dba4c8-c5f5-11ee-9dce-7799b712c9ef.html?utm_source=santafenewmexican.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fyour-morning-headlines%2F%3F123%26-dc%3D1707393612&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read%20more

1. Friday, February 9, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others. Join us!

2. Friday, February 9^th – Comments due to DOE about the Hexavalent Chromium Remediation in Sandia and Mortandad Canyons Project Floodplain Assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It’s a 15-day comment period.  A sample public comment you can use will be available here in the morning.  Submit comments by email to:  EMLA-NEPA@em.doe.gov.  For more information:  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/chromium-remediation-sandia-and-mortandad-canyons-project-floodplain-assessment 

3. Wednesday, February 13 from 6 to 9 pm – a virtual EPA public meeting about the Revised Designation of Certain Stormwater Discharges in the State of New Mexico under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). To register:  https://www.epa.gov/nm/forms/virtual-public-meeting-tuesday-february-132024-600-pm-800-pm-mst-revised-designation   

4. Wednesday, February 14^th – marking the 10^th anniversary of the explosion of one or more drums of transuranic (plutonium-contaminated) waste in the WIPP underground. See the February 9, 2024 Update.    

5. Thursday, February 15^th beginning at 4 at Santa Fe Community College about the proposed Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project. The U.S. Department of Energy and its nuclear security agency will hold a second hearing on the power line next Thursday as part of a second 30-day public comment period added after Commissioner Hansen, New Mexico congressional delegates, and activists complained too little time was given to hear people’s concerns about the project. Thank you for staying informed about the power line by visiting the Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety website. If you intend to submit a public comment, review the example letter and information from the Caja del Rio Coalition. For more information: AnnaHansen_CajaDelRio

6. Tuesday, February 20^th – Comments due about the LANL’s Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project for a 115 kV line across the Caja del Rio, the Rio Grande to LANL. Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own.

 The SECOND public comment period opened the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure.  For more information and to ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf

The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

7. Sunday, February 25^th at 1 pm – BAN The BOMB! Multimedia event MOVIE SCREENING, MARCH & RALLY.

1:00 pm – Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE

Screening of “Television Event”: a riveting documentary about the world-changing 1983 TV movie “The Day After” that profoundly impacted US nuclear policies, impacted then-president Reagan, ended the cold war, and led to a reduction in our nuclear arsenal.

Guild write-up: https://www.guildcinema.com/movies/television-event

See the trailer for Television Event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ftJ-I-yAu8

2:45 pm – We will march from the Guild Cinema to Triangle Substation Park, 2901 Central Ave NE

3:00 pm – Rally against nuclear weapons in Triangle Substation Park, 2901 Central Ave NE

We will gather to share ideas about how we can change public opinion the way the movie did and bring about the abolition of nuclear weapons. Featuring music by Eileen O’Shaughnessy, Paul Pino, and the Raging Grannies.

8. Wednesday, March 13^th – [Comment period extended from Feb. 12^th to March 13, 2024.] Comments due about LANL and its entities’ proposed Chromium Interim Measure and “final” Remedy of the hexavalent chromium plume (DOE/EA-2216) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  For more information and to download the document:  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2216-chromium-interim-measure-and-final-remedy-los-alamos-new-mexico    Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for sample public comments you can use to craft your own. 

As promised, a second public meeting on the proposed Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) upgrade project to expand electrical power capacity will begin at 4 pm on Thursday, February 15^th at the Santa Fe Community College.  The first virtual and in-person public meeting was held at the same location on January 11^th.

The proposed project is described in a draft environmental assessment that is out for public review and comment, with comments due February 20^th.   https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project

To craft your public comment, check out the Caja del Rio Coalition’s example letter at https://cajadelrio.org/lanltransmissionline/

The proposed project comprises a 14-mile, 115 kiloVolt overhead electrical line that would be added to the two overhead lines that cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, where LANL is located.

As the proposed project would cross Santa Fe National Forest lands, LANL is requesting amendments to the 2022 Land Management Plan.  The request includes the issuance of a Special Use Permit to establish a utility corridor for the transmission line.

There are many unanswered questions about the proposal.  LANL claims it needs the additional power line to run its supercomputers.

But a September 2021 post in the Los Alamos Reporter by Ted Wyka, the DOE/NNSA Manager of the Los Alamos Field Office, told a different story.  At that time, the uses included “state-of-the-air science experiments, innovation, and training in accelerator and neutron science, medical isotope production and research, and next-generation computing…”  https://losalamosreporter.com/2021/09/27/lanl-power-upgrade-would-provide-lab-los-alamos-county-with-reliable-and-redundant-electrical-power/

There is no explanation for the change.

Nearly three years ago, over 650 public comments addressed the subjects that would be covered in the draft environmental assessment.  Those comments alone necessitated DOE/NNSA to elevate its analyses into a more complete environmental impact statement.  But the federal agencies did not do so.

Did you know DOE/NNSA/LANL is six years behind schedule to release a draft site-wide environmental impact statement about its day-to-day operations as well as proposed projects such as the electrical upgrade project?

Nevertheless, the draft SWEIS has not been released for public review and comment, even though it was supposed to be released last fall.  In the meantime, LANL continues to expand its operations to fabricate the plutonium cores of nuclear weapons without any cumulative impacts analyses for the increased use of water, emissions into the air, waste generation, and transportation impacts for the 2,000 new employees, etc.

Fabricating plutonium cores for nuclear weapons requires electricity – how much is unknown.  More analyses are needed through a separate environmental impact statement and/or through the SWEIS, in which case, the environmental assessment process must be put on hold.

To learn about the 106,000-acre Caja del Rio, please visit the beautiful and informative website of the Caja del Rio Coalition at www.cajadelrio.org

An interview with KTRC-AM (Richard Eeds) with NM Wild/Caja del Rio Coalition with Carmichael Dominguez and Garrett VeneKlasen is available here:  https://santafe.com/podcast/richard-eeds-show-january-24-2024-4/

1. Friday, February 2, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others. Join us!

2. Monday, February 5^th – 10-year anniversary of the truck fire in the WIPP underground. Six employees were treated for smoke inhalation at the Carlsbad Medical Center and then released.   Operations were suspended and shipments to the site were stopped.  http://nuclearactive.org/salt-hauling-vehicle-catches-fire-in-wipp-underground/ and http://nuclearactive.org/doe-begins-investigation-of-vehicle-fire-in-wipp-underground-2/

3. Friday, February 9^th – Comments due to DOE about the Hexavalent Chromium Remediation in Sandia and Mortandad Canyons Project Floodplain Assessment. It’s a 15-day comment period.  Submit comments by email to:  EMLA-NEPA@em.doe.gov.  For more information:  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/chromium-remediation-sandia-and-mortandad-canyons-project-floodplain-assessment 

4. Monday, February 12^th – Comments due about LANL and its entities’ proposed Chromium Interim Measure and “final” Remedy of the hexavalent chromium plume (DOE/EA-2216). For more information and to  download the document:  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2216-chromium-interim-measure-and-final-remedy-los-alamos-new-mexico    Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own. 

5. Wednesday, February 14^th – marking the 10^th anniversary of the explosion of one or more drums of transuranic (plutonium-contaminated) waste in the WIPP underground.  The remembrance will begin at the East Entrance to the New Mexico Statehouse at 12:45 pm.  Musicians will perform songs of satire about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).  At 1 pm the activities will move into the Rotunda.  A rose bouquet with the names of at-risk communities along the route from LANL to Lamy will be presented to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to convey our thanks for what she’s done and remind her that more is needed to keep New Mexicans safe.

6. Thursday, February 15^th beginning at 4 on at Santa Fe Community College about the proposed Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project. See this week’s Update. 

7. Tuesday, February 20^th – Comments due about the LANL’s Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project for a 115 kV line across the Caja del Rio, the Rio Grande to LANL. Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own.

The SECOND public comment period opened the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure.  For more information and to ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf

The SECOND public comment period ends on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

8. Sunday, February 25^th at 1 pm – showing of the “TV Event” at the Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM. https://www.guildcinema.com/movies/television-event  

Twenty years ago, the hexavalent chromium plume was discovered in the regional aquifer 1,000 feet below ground surface at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Since then the debate about how to remove the dangerous hexavalent chromium from the regional drinking water aquifer has been ongoing between LANL, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the public.

There are two forms of chromium:  a healthy trivalent form and a toxic hexavalent form, which can cause lung cancer and damage the kidneys, liver, circulatory system, and nerve tissues.

LANL explains that the hexavalent chromium was used as a corrosion inhibitor in the electricity-generating steam plant, which then migrated from a discharge pipe through the complex volcanic geology to the drinking water aquifer.

In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency designated the aquifer as the Española Basin Sole Source Drinking Water Aquifer after accepting the application submitted by Elaine Cimino of the La Cienega Valley Citizens for Environmental Safeguards and geo-hydrologist Zane Spiegel.

A sole source aquifer is one where the aquifer supplies at least 50 percent of the drinking water for its service area and there is no reasonably available alternative drinking water source should the aquifer become contaminated.  The Española Basin aquifer is approximately 3,000 square miles.  It stretches east and west of the Rio Grande between the Sangre de Christo and Jemez Mountains.  To the north it reaches to Tres Piedras and to the south almost to Galisteo.  See map at:  https://epa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9ebb047ba3ec41ada1877155fe31356b

The hexavalent chromium plume sits on the southwestern side of the aquifer, which must be protected from the pollutants released by LANL over the past 80 years through its research and fabrication of plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons.

Please raise your voice that LANL needs to do more to protect the aquifer.  Please submit comments about the draft National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment for the Chromium Interim Measure and Final Remedy (DOE/EA-2216) by the February 12, 2024 deadline.  Sample public comments will be available soon at nuclearactive.org.  To access the two-volume document:    https://www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/doeea-2216-draft-environmental-assessment     

But, wait, there’s more.  This week LANL requested public comments about its NEPA draft floodplain assessment for chromium remediation in the canyon bottoms above the plume. There is a 15-day public comment period and those comments are due February 9^th.  Sample comments you can use will be available soon at nuclearactive.org.  To access the assessment:  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/articles/chromium-remediation-sandia-and-mortandad-canyons-project-floodplain-assessment

Even though LANL held two public meetings this week about how to remove hexavalent chromium from the drinking water aquifer, there was no mention of the public comment opportunity to review the floodplain assessment for the hexavalent chromium in the Sandia and Mortandad canyon bottoms.  The chromium plume is located below and between Sandia and Mortandad Canyons.

Joni Arends, of CCNS, expressed her dismay about how LANL is backsliding in its responsibilities to provide consistent public notice for the NEPA documents.  She said, “It has been difficult to find, let alone receive consistent public notice for the recent onslaught of five draft NEPA documents for LANL that are subject to public review and comment.  LANL is required to publish notices in local newspapers, post notices on their website and notify those who sign up to received electronic notice through email.  Nevertheless, there are inconsistencies throughout for the five draft LANL NEPA documents that have been released for public review and comment since December 18^th, 2023.  In total, LANL has released close to 500 pages of technical and complex scientific analyses for public review and comment, all without consistent public notice.”

1. Monday, January 22, 2024 – The SECOND public comment period opened the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. For more information and to ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf

 The SECOND public comment period ends on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

2. Friday, January 26, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Saturday, January 27^th from noon to 2 pm Mountain, an online forum about Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative will focus on the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it. 

 The speakers are John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder and past president of the IPPNW; and Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative/Pax Christi International.  For more information and to register, go to: https://paxchristima.org/

4. Sunday, January 28^th at noon to 3 pm– New Mexico Premiere of “SOS – The San Onofre Syndrome – Nuclear Power’s Legacy – at the Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM. Post-screening Q&A with Eileen O’Shaughnessy of Demand Nuclear Abolition and Don Hancock of Southwest Research and Information Center.  Tickets on   Admission $10 – $25 (no one will be turned away).  For more information: https://sanonofresyndrome.com/

5. Monday, February 5^th – 10-year anniversary of the truck fire in the WIPP underground.  http://nuclearactive.org/salt-hauling-vehicle-catches-fire-in-wipp-underground/ and http://nuclearactive.org/doe-begins-investigation-of-vehicle-fire-in-wipp-underground-2/

6. Monday, February 12^th – Comments due about LANL and its entities’ “final” remedy of the hexavalent chromium plume. Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own. 

7. Tuesday, February 20^th – Comments due about the LANL’s Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project for a 115 kV line across the Caja del Rio, the Rio Grande to LANL. Check back to http://www.nuclearactive.org for talking points and sample public comments you can use to craft your own.

8. Sunday, February 25^th at 1 pm – showing of the “TV Event” at the Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM. Mark your calendar.  More information to follow. 

In July 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the Tularosa Basin Range Services, a Bechtel affiliate, a 10-year, $3 billion management and operating contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to continue the disposal of Cold War radioactive and hazardous wastes from the fabrication of plutonium-based nuclear weapons.  https://www.energy.gov/em/waste-isolation-pilot-plant-wipp  The contract contains a four-year base period, or through November 7, 2026, and six one-year option periods.  The newly established contractor is Salado Isolation Mining Contractors LLC, or SIMCO.  https://simco-llc.us/

DOE calls it a “performance-based, Cost-Plus-Award-Fee” contract.  In addition to the baseline contract amount, each year DOE and SIMCO agree to a Performance Evaluation and Measurement Plan, or PEMP, with bonuses for specified activities during the October 1^st to September 30^th fiscal year. This year’s PEMP bonus incentives, approved on September 26, 2023, totaled nearly $16.8 million.  https://www.energy.gov/em/articles/doe-awards-waste-isolation-pilot-plant-wipp-management-and-operating-contract

In June 2023, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), DOE, SIMCO, non-governmental organizations, including CCNS, and individuals negotiated a renewed hazardous waste permit to strengthen the previous permit.  The renewal permit prioritized disposal of legacy waste, not waste from new weapons production, such as plutonium pits at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Savannah River Site.  The Renewal Permit became effective on November 3, 2023, but the final provisions had been agreed to in the June 2023 negotiations.  https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/lanl-permit/

Thus, DOE and SIMCO knew of the LANL prioritization condition when the PEMP was approved.  This year’s PEMP is an initial indication of how DOE and SIMCO plan to comply with that prioritization.  To encourage more waste shipments, the PEMP provides for $3.14 million in bonuses if WIPP receives 520 shipments in the year, in the amount of $5,500 for each shipment received, with an additional $7,000 for each of the first 40 shipments from LANL.  Thus, the extra incentive is for about 8 percent of all shipments to be from LANL.  If there are 40 shipments from LANL and 480 shipments from other sites, SIMCO receives the entire bonus amount.

That is not sufficient prioritization based on the expectations of CCNS and others that were involved in the negotiations.  https://stopforeverwipp.org/

Rather than an increased priority, the number of LANL shipments might actually go down.  In each of the past four years, LANL has sent 46 or more shipments to WIPP, though not all of them were legacy waste but newly generated waste from plutonium pit production.

The PEMPs can be changed during the year.  CCNS believes that for SIMCO to receive the full bonus amounts, the number of LANL legacy waste shipments should be substantially increased.

1. Friday, January 19, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

2. Monday, January 22^nd, marks the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The message from the Nobel Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is:

3-2-1 Happy Anniversary TPNW!
It’s been 3 years since the treaty entered into force, there have been 2 Meetings of States Parties of the treaty where we have seen what real action on disarmament looks like, and there is 1 action you can take today to back the plan to end nuclear weapons.

What action will you take?  Here’s one:

Join with a family member or friend to read the Treaty.  A public-reading friendly version is available at https://www.nuclearbantreaty.org/resources/treaty-excerpts-for-public-reading/   This version highlights the important portions for our collective work.

For more ideas and information, please visit https://www.icanw.org/

3. Monday, January 22, 2024 – The SECOND public comment period opens about the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. For more information and to ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf

The SECOND public comment period ends on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

4. Tuesday, January 23^rd at 8 am Mountain – the virtual 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will set the hands of the clock to show the growing threat of nuclear annihilation. https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/

A toolkit has been prepared that you can use to educate people and the media about the nuclear threat and the Doomsday Clock. https://www.canva.com/design/DAF486DSDw0/4uRnj9IGFzDFI5Eyp4ZgPA/edit?utm_content=DAF486DSDw0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

5. Saturday, January 27^th from noon to 2 pm Mountain, an online forum about Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative will focus on the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it.
   

The speakers are John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder and past president of the IPPNW; and Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative/Pax Christi International.  For more information and to register, go to: https://paxchristima.org/

Monday, January 22^nd marks the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  This year’s focus is the lie of deterrence.  For decades policy makers have declared nuclear weapons necessary to deter enemy attacks, all the while ignoring the humanitarian costs of the nuclear arms race and the global devastation promised by the nuclear weapons should deterrence fail.

Deterrence has always been a smokescreen, meant to hide the truth about nuclear weapons while nations amassed huge stockpiles in order to project power around the globe.  If deterrence ever was a credible policy, that credibility has evaporated as new countries have joined the nuclear club—precisely because they fear the weapons of other nations, exposing the reality that the policy of deterrence has always and inevitably promised proliferation, and with it, ever-increasing peril.  The only path to true security is the elimination of nuclear weapons—and the only path to eliminating nuclear weapons is the Ban Treaty.

The United States has yet to sign on and ratify the Treaty.  Nevertheless participating in in-person and virtual events will make a difference.

Join with a family member or friend to read the Treaty.  A public-reading friendly version is available at https://www.nuclearbantreaty.org/resources/treaty-excerpts-for-public-reading/   This version highlights the important portions for our collective work.

On Saturday, January 13, Massachusetts Peace Action is sponsoring an online conference from noon-3:30pm Mountain Time: Reducing the Threat of Nuclear War 2024.  In addition to speakers, there will be more than a dozen breakout rooms. Information and registration: https://secure.everyaction.com/UokyFJ64eEK_rh3FAV4IxQ2?ms=email-01-10&emci=df59d080-52af-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&emdi=e410ab21-e2af-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&ceid=322282

On Sunday, January 14 at 8 am Mountain Time, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy will be host a webinar about the interconnectedness of the two great existential threats posed by the climate crisis and the danger of nuclear war.  To register, go to the registration page:  https://members.ypfp.org/event-5521082

The anniversary of the Ban Treaty will be followed on Tuesday, January 23^rd at 8 am Mountain by the virtual 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.  The setting of the hands of the clock always draws media attention, and it dovetails perfectly with the Ban Treaty’s goal of eliminating the threat of nuclear annihilation.  https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/

John Pope at the Bulletin has put together a toolkit that you can use to educate people and the media about the nuclear threat and the Doomsday Clock. https://www.canva.com/design/DAF486DSDw0/4uRnj9IGFzDFI5Eyp4ZgPA/edit?utm_content=DAF486DSDw0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

On Saturday, January 27^th from noon to 2 pm Mountain, an online forum about Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative will focus on the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it.

The speakers are John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder and past president of the IPPNW; and Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative/Pax Christi International.  For more information and to register, go to: https://paxchristima.org/

1. Your financial support makes a difference! Please help CCNS with a tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, January 12, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf   The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

In an utterly confusing move, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) released an environmental assessment for public review and comment that claims it contains the final remedy for the cleanup of the hexavalent chromium plume in the regional drinking water aquifer.  CCNS says it is confusing because a final remedy cannot be proposed before a full determination is made of the lateral and vertical nature and extent of the contamination in the plume.  It is premature for LANL to ask the public to provide comments on a proposed “final” remedy because LANL does not know the nature and extent of the contamination.

LANL claims it prepared the draft environmental assessment to evaluate the potential environmental impacts from a combination of treatment options.  From there, LANL “would use adaptive site management (ASM) to select, implement, and manage removal of hexavalent chromium from source areas and the groundwater.”  But, again, such a statement is premature because LANL does not know the nature and extent of the contamination in the regional drinking water aquifer.

Nevertheless, LANL released an over 200-page, two-volume draft environmental assessment for public review and comment.  Public comments must be received by Monday, February 12, 2024.

LANL offers four “final” remedy options.

In the first option, LANL would install up to 15 new injection wells, 15 new extraction wells and 15 new groundwater monitoring wells into the 1,000 foot deep regional drinking water aquifer and extract and inject treated waters, up to 550,000,000 gallons per year, back into the aquifer.

The second option facilitates mass removal of the hexavalent chromium with land application of the treated waters.  There are ongoing concerns about where the land application would take place.

The third option is mass removal through in-situ treatment to supplement treatment of contaminated groundwater.

The fourth option is monitored natural attenuation that relies on natural physical, chemical or biological processes to reduce contamination over time.  This option may result in the drinking water aquifer never being cleaned up.

Be sure to bring your questions to the LANL in-person and virtual public meetings the week of January 22nd.

On Monday, January 22^nd, LANL will host an in-person meeting at the Cities of Gold Hotel and Casino Ballroom, at 10 Cities of Gold Road, in Pojoaque, from 6 to 8 pm Mountain Time.

On Wednesday, January 24^th, LANL will host a virtual meeting from 1 to 3 pm Mountain Time.

Connection details are available at nuclearactive.org.

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with a New Year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, January 5, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Monday, January 8^th – NM Public Regulation Commission hearing about the proposed New Mexico Gas Company LNG plant in Bernalillo County – public comments needed. For more info:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/lng , https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?eid=MHU2N3B1ZTY3NXJ1dmU3bmw3M3BqN3ZyM2ggbm1wcmMxQG0&ctz=America/Denver

4. Tuesday, January 9^th – Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners will consider sending a letter to LANL asking for an extension of time to submit comments. Please ask your Commissioner to support the letter.  https://www.santafecountynm.gov/committees/board-of-county-commissioners-bcc

5. Wednesday, January 10^th – City of Santa Fe Council will consider the amended resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL to include concerns about the proposed Electric Power Capacity Upgrade, EPCU, Project at its first meeting of 2024. Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.   https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

6. NEW DATE: Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial rescheduled to Thursday, January 11^th in Otero County, NM.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group      http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/     https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone

7. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. A sample public comment letter you can use to ask for an extension of time is available at http://nuclearactive.org/ .   The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

On December 19^th, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) released a draft environmental assessment that would allow the installation and operation of a 14-mile, 115 kiloVolt overhead electrical line basically in parallel to the two electrical lines that already cross the Caja del Rio Plateau and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, where LANL is located.  It is named the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade, or EPCU Project. A thirty-day public comment period was announced, ending on Wednesday, January 17^th, 2024.  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project

The Caja del Rio Coalition submitted a request for an extension of the public comment period for sixty days, or until March 17, 2024.  https://cajadelrio.org/

They stated:

“The public has shown significant interest in the EPCU Project, which has the potential to adversely impact ecological and cultural resources on the Caja del Rio plateau.  An extension is needed to accommodate the fact that the current comment period falls across numerous federal and major holidays, including but not limited to Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  The comment period also overlaps with multiple Pueblo feast days and events, and will occur during a major shift in Pueblo leadership.  Given the significance of this project and the fact that many Pueblos will have new incoming leadership, it is important that adequate time be given to engage in meaningful Tribal consultation.”

The letter continues:  “A time extension is needed to ensure that people and communities are not forced to choose between practicing their religious and traditional customs and their ability to meaningfully participate in the public process for the EPCU Project.”  231219 Caja del Rio Request for Extension EPCU

As of this writing, the Coalition has not received a response from LANL.  https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2023/12-19-23-Transmission-Line-Threatens-Wildlife-Cultural-Sites, https://cajadelrio.org/lanlextension/

However, on December 20^th, Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Congresswomen Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury, wrote to Dr. Jill Hruby, the National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator, supporting the request for an extension of time to March 17, 2024 to provide informed and meaningful comments about the EPCU. 2023.12.20 Letter to NNSA re Caja del Rio Transmission Line

the The Caja Coalition is “a diverse group of individuals, organizations, elected leaders, Pueblo leaders, spiritual leaders, conservationists, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and more who all share one thing in common:  a commitment to preserving the beauty, history, water and wildlife of the Caja del Rio.”

The Coalition pointed to other issues in their letter, including:

“A time extension is also needed to allow interested organizations, sovereign governments, communities, and individuals to better consider the implications of the proposal. The EPCU Project implicates a web of complex issues demanding considerable scrutiny, including but not limited to the following proposals:

• “to amend the Santa Fe National Forest Land Management Plan, which was recently approved in August 2022 after a long and arduous public process; and
• “for the Bureau of Land Management to grant a right-of-way for this project.”

1. Your financial support makes a difference! Please help CCNS with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, December 29th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Wednesday, January 3^rd, the City of Santa Fe’s Quality of Life Committee will consider amendments to the proposed resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL. Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.  https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

4. Monday, January 8^th – NM Public Regulation Commission hearing about the proposed New Mexico Gas Company LNG plant in Bernalillo County – public comments needed. For more info:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/lng , https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?eid=MHU2N3B1ZTY3NXJ1dmU3bmw3M3BqN3ZyM2ggbm1wcmMxQG0&ctz=America/Denver

5. Tuesday, January 9^th – Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners will consider sending a letter to LANL asking for an extension of time to submit comments. Please ask your Commissioner to support the letter.  https://www.santafecountynm.gov/committees/board-of-county-commissioners-bcc

6. Wednesday, January 10^th – City of Santa Fe Council will consider the amended resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL to include concerns about the proposed Electric Power Capacity Upgrade, EPCU, Project at its first meeting of 2024. Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.   https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

7. NEW DATE: Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial rescheduled to Thursday, January 11^th in Otero County, NM.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group    http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/     https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone

8. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 –Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. Sample public comments for you to use at http://nuclearactive.org/  The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has a habit of releasing environmental documents requiring public comment during the winter holiday season. That habit continued this winter with not one, but two draft environmental assessments (EA).  One involves the hexavalent chromium plume in Mortandad Canyon.  The second, and the topic of this Update, is the proposed Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project where an approximately 14-mile, 115 kiloVolt overhead electrical line would be added to the two that already cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, where LANL is located.  https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project

LANL claims now it needs the additional power line to run its supercomputers.

But a September 2021 post in the Los Alamos Reporter by Ted Wyka, the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Manager of the Los Alamos Field Office, Wyka had an expanded list.  The uses included “state-of-the-air science experiments, innovation, and training in accelerator and neutron science, medical isotope production and research, and next-generation computing…”  https://losalamosreporter.com/2021/09/27/lanl-power-upgrade-would-provide-lab-los-alamos-county-with-reliable-and-redundant-electrical-power/

CCNS asks, “What has changed requiring LANL to limit the use of the electricity to the supercomputers?”  The draft EA doesn’t let the public know.

Two and half years ago, over 650 public comments were submitted about the proposed scope of the draft EA.  Since that time, public concerns about the care and preservation of the 106,000-acre Caja del Rio have grown.  For more information, please visit the beautiful website at https://cajadelrio.org/

As the proposed project would cross Santa Fe National Forest lands, LANL is requesting amendments to the 2022 Land Management Plan.  The request includes a Special Use Permit to establish a utility corridor specific to the proposed transmission line across National Forest lands.

CCNS has prepared a sample public comment letter you can use to modify and submit to LANL.  Comments are currently due to LANL by January 17, 2024.  231220 draft EPCU comments

There will be other opportunities for public comments in early January.

On Tuesday, January 9^th, the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners will consider sending a letter to LANL asking for an extension of time to submit comments.  Please ask your Commissioner to support the letter.  https://www.santafecountynm.gov/committees/board-of-county-commissioners-bcc

Santa Fe’s City Council is considering a resolution opposing expanded plutonium pit production at LANL with friendly amendments to address concerns about the proposed electrical power capacity upgrade project.

On Wednesday, January 3^rd, Santa Fe’s Quality of Life Committee will consider amendments to the resolution.  Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.  https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

On Wednesday, January 10^th, the Santa Fe City Council will consider the amended resolution at its first meeting of 2024.  Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.   https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, December 22nd from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Wednesday, January 3^rd, the City of Santa Fe’s Quality of Life Committee will consider amendments to the proposed resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL. Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.  https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

4. Monday, January 8^th – NM Public Regulation Commission hearing about the proposed New Mexico Gas Company LNG plant in Bernalillo County – public comments needed. For more info:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/lng , https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?eid=MHU2N3B1ZTY3NXJ1dmU3bmw3M3BqN3ZyM2ggbm1wcmMxQG0&ctz=America/Denver

5. Tuesday, January 9^th –Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners will consider sending a letter to LANL asking for an extension of time to submit comments. Please ask your Commissioner to support the letter.  https://www.santafecountynm.gov/committees/board-of-county-commissioners-bcc

6. Wednesday, January 10^th – City of Santa Fe Council will consider the amended resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL to include concerns about the proposed Electric Power Capacity Upgrade, EPCU, Project at its first meeting of 2024. Ask your councilors to support the amendments to include the EPCU Project concerns.   https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal

7. NEW DATE: Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial rescheduled to Thursday, January 11^th in Otero County, NM. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/   https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone

8. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. Sample public comments for you to use at http://nuclearactive.org/   The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

An on-going David versus Goliath fight occurred last week during a public hearing before the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board, a board charged to prevent or abate air pollution.  On the first day of the hearing in the evening of December 4^th, the Albuquerque City Council challenging the very existence of the Board and voted to disband it.  As the hearing continued on Tuesday, December 5^th, during the public comment period, City Councilor Dan Lewis attended the hearing to enforce the City’s action to dissolve the Board with a Cease and Desist Order.  After some heated words, Councilor Lewis left.  The hearing continued despite the uncertainties that hung over the proceedings.  https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/air-quality-control-board

After decades of working to stop polluting facilities from releasing pollutants into the air and from citing new facilities in already overburdened communities, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Environmental Health Division (EHD) suggested the communities bring forward a draft ordinance, a job the EHD normally does.

Elaine Cimino, of Common Ground Rising, a community based participatory research organization, is a pro se party to the hearing.  https://commongroundrising.org/

The New Mexico Environmental Law Center and their clients drafted a Health Environment and Equity Impact (HEEI) Ordinance, which was presented in July 2023.  The clients’ communities are the Mountain View Neighborhood Association, the Mountain View Community Action https://www.facebook.com/MountainViewCoalition/ , and the Friends of Valle de Oro https://friendsofvalledeoro.org/.  The University of New Mexico Law Clinic, under the direction of Gabe Pacyniak, https://lawschool.unm.edu/clinic/index.html , https://lawschool.unm.edu/faculty/pacyniak/index.html  represents the individuals Sofia Martinez and Manuel Criollo.

The proposed HEEI ordinance was opposed by various “polluters,” which comprise asphalt plants, the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico, business entities, concrete plants, contractors, mining operations, refining terminals, Kirtland Air Force Base, National Nuclear Security Administration, the National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a contractor to Sandia National Laboratory.

The Board held a six-day hearing on the proposed HEEI Ordinance.  In the end, a limited rule was approved in the final hours.  The public will not know the full extent of its limitations until the official final rule is released.  https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/air-quality-control-board/public-notices-and-comment-opportunities

Did you know how harmful air pollutants are to health?  Common Ground Rising has been combatting air pollution in the Albuquerque area by working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, to obtain access to pollution monitoring results gathered by satellites.  Please see Ms Cimino’s December 1, 2023 Closing Statement here.  231201 Elaine Cimino Closing Stmt HEEI Hrg.-3

From the limited data analyzed so far, the NASA researchers estimate that in 2019 there were 50 premature deaths attributable to long-term exposure to PM 2.5, or particulate matter 2.5; and 70 premature deaths due to exposure to ozone; and 1,040 new cases of pediatric asthma due to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  Please see the “Public Policy Statement from the [NASA] Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (HAQAST) Satellite Data for Environmental Justice,” pp. 3 – 5 of Ms Cimino’s Closing Statement HEEI Hrg-3.pdf.  231201 Elaine Cimino Closing Stmt HEEI Hrg.-3

See also, the demonstration map where nitrogen dioxide (NO2) satellite data was integrated into the map of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. “Inclusion of NO2 data is not only essential but also represents a significant step towards achieving [the goals of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice Geographic Information System (EJ GIS) Tool].  Our primary concern is that without the utilization of NO2 satellite data, the Environmental Health Department (EHD) may overlook the potential benefits and insights that such data could bring to the table.” pp. 3 – 4 of Ms Cimino’s November 6, 2023 Proposed Comments for Integration of NO2 Data into the Health Environment and Equity Impact Ordinance (HEEI).  231106 Final Written Comments By E Cimino on HEEI  

These deaths and new cases of pediatric asthma occurred in just one year. Each year of exposure adds up into what is called cumulative impacts to health.  People are sick and suffering.  And overburdened communities bear the brunt.

To learn more about the HEEI Ordinance, please visit the New Mexico Environmental Law Center at https://nmelc.org/ .

1. Your financial support makes a difference! Please help CCNS with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, December 15th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Monday, January 8^th – NM Public Regulation Commission hearing about the proposed New Mexico Gas Company LNG plant in Bernalillo County – public comments needed. For more info:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/lng , https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?eid=MHU2N3B1ZTY3NXJ1dmU3bmw3M3BqN3ZyM2ggbm1wcmMxQG0&ctz=America/Denver

4. NEW DATE: Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial rescheduled to Thursday, January 11^th in Otero County, NM.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group     http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/    https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone

5. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 –Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. CCNS is working on sample public comments for you to use. The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

For the first time, an agreement was made by the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to challenge the false narrative of nuclear deterrence.  It holds that possession of nuclear weapons will prevent another nation with nuclear weapons from attacking.  The Treaty States identified deterrence theory as both a threat to human security and an obstacle to progress to nuclear disarmament.  The States Parties tasked the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), stakeholders and experts to challenge the security paradigm based on nuclear deterrence by “highlighting and promoting new scientific evidence about the humanitarian consequences and risks of nuclear weapons and juxtaposing this with the risks and assumptions that are inherent in nuclear deterrence.”  New scientific evidence about the cascading effects of nuclear war on food supplies, the financial system and energy supplies was presented to support the new task. https://www.icanw.org/un_nuclear_ban_treaty_countries_strongly_condemn_the_doctrine_of_nuclear_deterrence

Over 90 countries and over 700 civil society delegates participated in the week long Second Meeting of States Parties at the United Nations in New York from November 26^th through December 1^st.  Nearly half of the countries of the world have signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty.  https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

New Mexicans actively participated in the discussions and built stronger bonds with others impacted by nuclear weapons.  They shared their unique stories of living in a state where the entire nuclear cycle exists – from uranium mining and milling, nuclear weapons research, development and testing, to waste disposal, including at the only deep geologic repository in the world for plutonium contaminated waste from nuclear weapons fabrication.

On December 1^st, before the full plenary of the Second Meeting, Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, on behalf of the Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Santa Fe and Seattle dioceses, delivered a statement in support of the Treaty.  They called upon world leaders to demonstrate progress toward nuclear disarmament by a deadline of August 2025, the 80^th anniversary of the atomic bombings during World War II.  https://archdiosf.org/documents/2023/11/231122_TPNW_Statement_ASF.pdf

In another action, people from communities around the world affected by the development, testing and use of nuclear weapons wrote a collective Affected Communities Statement about the harms they have experienced and continue to experience.  They acknowledged, “Nuclear colonization has disproportionately impacted Indigenous People and marginalized communities.  Indigenous Peoples lands were taken.  Bodies were used, people were bombed.” https://www.icanw.org/un_nuclear_ban_treaty_countries_strongly_condemn_the_doctrine_of_nuclear_deterrence

In March 2025, the Third Meeting of States Parties will meet at the United Nations in New York.

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, December 8th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Saturday, December 9^th at 1:30 to 2:30 pm – Albuquerque OLD TOWN Plaza, near the gazebo – Join NM PeaceFest, Veterans for Peace, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, the Raging Grannies and more, in demanding an end to the threat of nuclear annihilation. We’ll sing songs and share ideas on how to shut down the nuclear bomb factory.  Everyone is welcome. Bundle up and join us!

4. Wednesday, December 13^th from 2 to 4 pm Mountain Time, National WIPP Information Exchange – a hybrid public meeting to exchange information about the Legacy TRU Waste Disposal Plan as required by the new hazardous waste permit.  QR codes and registration:  https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20231201.asp

5. Wednesday, December 13^th at 6 pm MST – “Power to the People: How Grassroots Power Overcomes Big Nuclear” Webinar, presented by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.  https://www.nirs.org/   Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8FjN4qowRQCT8UWL1KR0Mg?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=d9ffec16-5667-42ab-96c3-af726cdc0836#/registration

6. Monday, January 8^th – NM Public Regulation Commission hearing about the proposed New Mexico Gas Company LNG plant in Bernalillo County – public comments needed. For more info:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/lng , https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?eid=MHU2N3B1ZTY3NXJ1dmU3bmw3M3BqN3ZyM2ggbm1wcmMxQG0&ctz=America/Denver

7. NEW DATE: Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial rescheduled to Thursday, January 11^th in Otero County, NM.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group    http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/    https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone

8. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. CCNS is working on sample public comments for you to use. The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project