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 

Since at least 1999 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has proposed running an additional 12-mile, 115 kilovolt electric line to the two that already cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, claiming it needs the additional power line to run its supercomputers.

But this is the first time the proposal has come with a draft environmental assessment, or EA, which is over 200-pages long. https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project  For that reason, this Update is limited to informing you simply that the draft EA is out and that the public process remains flawed, an observation the Update will develop next week.  CCNS is working on draft sample public comments that you can use.

Public comments about the proposed scope of the draft EA were due on May 21, 2021.  Now, 2 ½ years later, the draft EA has been released.  In those 2 ½ years, the public concerns about the care and preservation of the 106,000-acre Caja del Rio have grown.

The Caja del Rio is located between the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe rivers to the south and beyond Diablo Canyon to the north.  Currently there are efforts to create a national monument to preserve it.  To learn more, go to the beautiful website of the Caja del Rio Coalition at https://cajadelrio.org/

The draft EA is a joint effort by DOE and NNSA, the cooperating Santa Fe National Forest, and the participating Bureau of Land Management.  Together they are proposing the power transmission line to carry power from the Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, bulk electric system.  The proposal is for a 12.5 mile long, three phase, 115 kilovolt overhead power transmission line on large pole structures — 9.6 miles would span the Caja del Rio section of the Santa Fe National Forest and 2.7 miles would cross the Rio Grande in White Rock Canyon and terminate at a LANL substation on land managed by DOE and NNSA.  Access roads and lay down areas would be required.

Importantly, the EA recommends an amendment to the Santa Fe National Forest Plan to allow issuance of a special use permit to construct and operate the power line infrastructure outside some areas of the designated or existing utility corridor.

Now that you know, let’s form a working group to bring together concerns and expertise to address LANL’s proposal.  If you are interested, please email ccns@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 

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 1st 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, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   See the Nov. 9^th Update for more details.  http://nuclearactive.org/states-parties-to-the-treaty-on-the-prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons-will-meet-at-the-united-nations-to-strengthen-the-ban/   Check out the MSP-TV to catch up on the twice daily updates about what is happening at the United Nations.  https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv

4. 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

5. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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

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. 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
   

EVENT FOLLOW UP

About 60 people attended the Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons on the Santa Fe Plaza on Sunday, November 26, 2023 to sing with the Raging Grannies and to hear from speakers on many related nuclear issues, including uranium mining, nuclear colonization, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, expanding plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory and waste disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, both sites in New Mexico.  The event was organized by the New Mexico Peace Festivals.  https://abqpeacefest.org/

You are invited to join the Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons on Sunday, November 26^th at 2 pm on the Santa Fe Plaza.  Come with your friends, family and colleagues and call for an end to nuclear weapons by bringing attention to the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the TPNW.  Sing anti-nuclear and anti-war lyrics to familiar tunes with the Raging Grannies of New Mexico.  Bring signs, drums or tambourines.  To show our solidarity with others around the world, we’ll take photos and make videos to share on the website of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, the initiator of the Global Day of Action.  https://www.icanw.org/joniarends/global_day_of_action_of_against_nuclear_weapons_on_santa_fe_plaza

Sunday’s events are followed by other international actions to abolish nuclear weapons.  On Monday, November 27^th, the 69 States Parties to the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will begin meeting all week at the United Nations in New York City.  This is the second time the parties to the Treaty will have convened since the Treaty became international law in January 2021.  It is oddly fitting to hold the meetings on U.S. soil because the United States is not a party to the Treaty and refuses to comply with it.  We need to encourage the United States to join with nearly half the nations of the world taking concrete steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.  https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

ICAN encourages everyone to be loud and proud that the TPNW has been in effect for nearly three years.  Around the world, people will hold vigils and rallies calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons in solidarity with the delegations of the States Parties at the United Nations.  https://www.icanw.org/events

Please join with the New Mexico Peace Fest, Veterans for Peace Albuquerque and Santa Fe Chapters, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, the Raging Grannies New Mexico, Taos Environmental Film Festival, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Stop the War Machine, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Green Party ABQ Metro Area, Unity Spiritual Center, A.N.S.W.E.R., the New Mexico Peace Choir, Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center and people of faith at 2 pm on Sunday the 26^th on the Santa Fe Plaza.  Let’s amplify the international call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Check out the ICAN website for more information.  https://www.icanw.org/ You can find online and in person events at https://www.icanw.org/events

Check out the Artists Against the Bomb for visuals you can download and bring to the Sunday gathering.  https://artistsagainstthebomb.org/  Check out Santa Fe artist Kaitlin Bryson’s piece there.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uVi04r3694lz9R5lnfDY6sngXhNidOhZ/view

To watch the proceedings on UN Web TV, go to https://webtv.un.org/en/schedule

For a quick 15 minute overview of what is happening at the United Nations twice a day, sign-up to watch MSP-TV at https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv  At 9 am and 3 pm Mountain (11 am and 5 pm Eastern) ICAN’s MSP-TV will provide a summary, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events from Monday 27 November until 1 December 2023.

Together we are making a difference!    

1. Friday, November 24th 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, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023       See this week’s Update for more details.

3. Tuesday, November 28^th from 11 am to 12:30 pm Mountain Time – hybrid presentation about the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons and Signs of Hope for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World at Baha’i International Center at UN Plaza and on zoom. Registration is required at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckceuqpjspHdxOSycn61Xb7QFAticgAlfC#/registration   For more information and other events:  https://www.genderandradiation.org/2023events

4. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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 will be working on sample public comments for you to use soon. 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 

What would happen to the fields of amber waves of grain in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota that feed so many, as well as the area’s population, should a concerted nuclear attack occur in those same fields housing silos of intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs?

New research by Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security in collaboration with others presents the risks associated with the new U.S. Sentinel nuclear-armed land-based ICBMs.  The new research is published in the December issue of Scientific American under the title, The New Nuclear Age in the December 2023 issue.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/report/the-new-nuclear-age/ , https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YUnWmRRrfsQye5fv8F5x9bRUijJPvqrnOldpXN82eAc/edit

For those familiar with the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex, or those that want to learn about it, the series provides a concise, yet multi-level review of the relationships between the military industrial complex, nuclear weapons and missile silo sites, and the potential harm from replacing 400 Minuteman III ICBMs with the new, more powerful Sentinel ICBMs.  Replacing Minuteman IIIs with the Sentinels draws a larger target with larger environmental and public health consequences, including from radioactive fallout.  https://missilesonourland.org/ ,  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/inside-the-1-5-trillion-nuclear-weapons-program-youve-never-heard-of/ , https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/behind-the-scenes-at-a-u-s-factory-building-new-nuclear-bombs/ ,  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-would-take-the-brunt-of-an-attack-on-u-s-nuclear-missile-silos/

Sebastien Philippe, with Princeton’s program, described just how severe those environmental and public health consequences would be.  He said, “According to my models, a concerted nuclear attack on the existing U.S. silo fields [] would annihilate all life in the surrounding regions and contaminate fertile agricultural land for years. Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas would also probably face high levels of radioactive fallout. Acute radiation exposure alone would cause several million fatalities across the U.S.—if people get advance warning and can shelter in place for at least four days. Without appropriate shelter, that number could be twice as high. Because of great variability in wind directions, the entire population of the contiguous U.S. and the most populated areas of Canada, as well as the northern states of Mexico, would be at risk of lethal fallout—more than 300 million people in total. The inhabitants of the U.S. Midwest and of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario in Canada could receive outdoor whole-body doses of radiation several times higher than the minimum known to result in certain death.”

The multi-media format of Missiles on Our Land:  Confronting the risks of America’s land-based nuclear missiles includes a five-part investigative podcast by Ella Weber, entitled “The Missiles on Our Rez,” about the only Native American tribal nation hosting nuclear weapons.  Photos (credits to Nina Berman) are available at:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u8S7a-dTT5FNqyzjFAvVJXU5lR6X43n3?usp=drive_link  Maps (credits to (credits to Sebastien Philippe, Svitlana Lavrenchuk, Ivan Stepanov): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u93cNckL5vHHbOqFXmx11YLJkD7ToXHR?usp=sharing

To learn more, visit The Missiles on Our Land:  Confronting the risks of America’s land-based nuclear missiles at https://missilesonourland.org/

1. Friday, November 17th 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. Thursday, November 16^th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

 Community members may review Air Force Environmental Restoration Program documents by visiting the Kirtland AFB website at https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/ or the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center Administrative Record website AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

3. Friday, November 17^th – Saturday, November 18^th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24^th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

4. Sunday, November 26^th – Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons – Message from the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN):

“As governments, experts and campaigners get ready for a week of building on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, join the international day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)! All around the world, people will be taking action to show the delegations in New York that we expect them to be bold, courageous and use the TPNW to dismantle nuclear deterrence, and make sure the rest of the world is paying attention to this crucial opportunity.”

Funding may be available.  Add your action to the international calendar at:  https://www.icanw.org/2msp_global_day_of_action

5. Monday, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

Sign-up to watch MSP-TV at https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv  Don’t have time to watch the Nuclear Ban Week events play out minute-by-minute? ICAN’s  “MSP-TV” will provide you a summary, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events – at the UN, in New York and those organized by partners around the world- twice a day at 11:00 and 17:00 ET (at 9 am and 5 pm Mountain Time) from Monday 27 November until 1 December 2023.

6. Tuesday, November 28^th from 11 am to 12:30 pm Mountain Time – hybrid presentation about the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons and Signs of Hope for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World at Baha’i International Center at UN Plaza and on zoom. Registration is required at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckceuqpjspHdxOSycn61Xb7QFAticgAlfC#/registration   For more information and other events:  https://www.genderandradiation.org/2023events

7. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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

From Monday, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st, the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will meet at the United Nations in New York to review progress on the treaty’s implementation and agree on further action to strengthen it.  https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

This will be the second meeting of the States Parties.  https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023; https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties; and https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/disarmament-fora/nuclear-weapon-ban/2msp

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, is encouraged by the 97 States that have already signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty.  https://www.icanw.org/eu_today_tpnw  It continues its work for more States to join the Treaty.  In 2017, ICAN was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.  CCNS is a member of ICAN.

The Treaty is also commonly known as the Nuclear Ban Treaty.

The States Parties have urged the nuclear-armed states and their allies to engage with the Nuclear Ban Treaty by being observers at the second meeting of the States Parties.  At the first meeting last year, several North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, members did attend.  They included representatives from Belgium, Germany, Norway, and The Netherlands.  Australia also attended as an observer.

Please encourage the Biden Administration to send a delegation of U.S. observers to the second meeting and to initiate negotiations with all the nuclear weapons states for a verifiable, time-bound agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons.  https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/269/26/PDF/N2326926.pdf?OpenElement

During this second meeting, a call will be made for all States to abandon the nuclear deterrence theory as an unacceptable threat to humanity and all life on Planet Earth and to end deployment of nuclear weapons in third states under the so-called nuclear sharing agreements.

ICAN states that deterrence is an unproven gamble, based on the implicit threat to use nuclear weapons.  That theory has brought the world close to nuclear war on a number of occasions.  Nuclear sharing agreements are a dangerous practice that further exacerbates the risks of proliferation and nuclear use.  The Nuclear Ban Treaty prohibits both of these activities.

Alongside the meetings at the United Nations, at least 40 in-person and virtual events will take place during Nuclear Ban Week.  There will be marches, rallies, art exhibits, concerts, debates, and presentations.  A full list of events is available on the ICAN website at https://www.icanw.org/2msp_events

The United Nations Side Event Calendar is available at https://docs-library.unoda.org/Treaty_on_the_Prohibition_of_Nuclear_Weapons_-SecondMeeting_of_States_Parties_(2023)/20231107_TPNW_2MSP_Side_events_calendar.pdf

Twice daily at 9 am and 5 pm Mountain Time from Monday, November 27^th until Friday, December 1^st, MSP-TV will provide 15-minutes of summaries, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events.  To receive a reminder, RSVP here:  https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv?locale=en

The second meeting of the State Parties where the end of nuclear weapons is being designed stands in direct contrast to the beginning of the Manhattan Project in the late 1930s to develop nuclear weapons.

1. Friday, November 10th 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. Saturday, November 11^th Armistice Day (also known as Veterans’ Day) in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In Albuquerque:  The Albuquerque Veterans For Peace will celebrate Armistice Day at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, typically from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.

In Santa Fe:  Join VFP, colleagues and allies on the Santa Fe Plaza at 10:45 a.m.  The Archdiocese will ring the Cathedral bells 11 times beginning at 11 a.m.  Other bell ringing is planned along with moments of silence.

For more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/join-veterans-for-peace-to-celebrate-armistice-day-on-saturday-november-11th/

3. Thursday, November 16^th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

Community members may review Air Force Environmental Restoration Program documents by visiting the Kirtland AFB website at https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/ or the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center Administrative Record website AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

4. Friday, November 17^th – Saturday, November 18^th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24^th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

5. Sunday, November 26^th – Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons – Message from the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN):

“As governments, experts and campaigners get ready for a week of building on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, join the international day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)! All around the world, people will be taking action to show the delegations in New York that we expect them to be bold, courageous and use the TPNW to dismantle nuclear deterrence, and make sure the rest of the world is paying attention to this crucial opportunity.”

Funding may be available.  Add your action to the international calendar at:  https://www.icanw.org/2msp_global_day_of_action

6. Monday, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

 Sign-up to watch MSP-TV at https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv  Don’t have time to watch the Nuclear Ban Week events play out minute-by-minute? ICAN’s  “MSP-TV” will provide you a summary, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events – at the UN, in New York and those organized by partners around the world- twice a day at 11:00 and 17:00 ET (at 9 am and 5 pm Mountain Time) from Monday 27 November until 1 December 2023.

7. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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

Over one hundred years ago, in 1918, the world celebrated peace as a universal principle.  The first World War had just ended and nations mourning their dead collectively called for an end to all wars.  Armistice Day was born and was designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated.”

After World War II, the U.S. Congress decided to rebrand November 11^th as Veterans Day.  Honoring the warrior quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war.  Armistice Day was flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.

Veterans For Peace has taken the lead to lift up the original intent of November 11^th as a day for peace.  Veterans know that a day that celebrates peace, not war, is the best way to honor the sacrifices of veterans.  They want future generations never to encounter the destruction war has wrought on people and the earth.

Veterans For Peace call on everyone to stand up for peace this Armistice Day.  More than ever, the world faces a critical moment.  Tensions are heightened around the world and the United States is engaged militarily in multiple countries, without an end in sight.

Here at home Veterans For Peace have seen the increased militarization of police forces, brutal crackdowns on dissent and uprisings against state power.  They recommend the government end reckless military interventions that endanger the entire world.  They support building a culture of peace.

This Armistice Day, Veterans For Peace call on the public to say “No” to more war and to demand justice and peace at home and abroad.  They know “Peace Is Possible” and call for an end to all oppressive and violent policies and for equality for all people.

Veterans For Peace has suggestions for actions on Saturday, November 11^th.   

Locally,  

Additional actions to take:

Educate yourself on the history and importance of Armistice Day.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day

Download and hang the Armistice Day Poster in your front window or anywhere else you feel it would be most visible to others.   https://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/9216/0088/6147/Final_AD_Poster_PDF.pdf

Host a silent vigil.  Invite others to join you to stand in silence for eleven minutes at 11 a.m. at a highly trafficked area in your city.

Ring Bells for Peace.  Ask local churches, community centers and schools to ring their bells at 11 a.m.

Read Poems and Stories.  Host an event and ask speakers to share their favorite poem or story about peace.

Send Letters to the Editor.  Write from the heart and tell them why you think November 11th must be a day for peace.

Contact your local elected officials to create a city or county proclamation in support of Armistice Day.

Share on Social Media.  Share your photos with the hashtag #ReclaimArmisticeDay.

Take action to end forever wars.  Updated calls to action are listed at www.veteransforpeace.org.

Find more suggestions on the Veterans For Peace website.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day

Below is an extensive list of upcoming events that you may want to participate in or take action during this busy time of the year.  Please mark your calendars!

1. Friday, November 3rd 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, November 6^th by 5 pm MT – Get your comments in to support the New Mexico Environment Department’s recommendation to excavate the LANL dump, MDA C. For more information and to access sample public comment letters you can use and modify, go to:  http://nuclearactive.org/comments-to-nmed-needed-in-support-of-excavation-of-lanl-dump-c-by-november-6th/ and http://nuclearactive.org/new-mexico-environment-department-recommends-excavation-of-lanls-material-disposal-area-c/

3. Wednesday, November 8^th virtual conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine from 9 am to 6 pm ET. Sponsored by the New York Bar Association, International Section.  https://nysba.org/events/nuclear-weapons-and-international-law-the-renewed-imperative-in-light-of-the-ukraine-war/

4. Thursday, November 9^th by 5 pm MT – Comments due on the draft Community Relations Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). https://wipp.energy.gov/community-outreach.asp

5. Saturday, November 11^th Armistice Day (also known as Veterans’ Day) in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In Albuquerque:  The Albuquerque Veterans For Peace will celebrate Armistice Day at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, typically from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.

In Santa Fe:  Join VFP, colleagues and allies on the Santa Fe Plaza at 10:45 a.m.  The Archdiocese will ring the Cathedral bells 11 times beginning at 11 a.m.  Other bell ringing is planned along with moments of silence.

6. Thursday, November 16^th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE. Community members may review Air Force Environmental Restoration Program documents by visiting the Kirtland AFB website at https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/ or the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center Administrative Record website AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

7. Friday, November 17^th – Saturday, November 18^th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24^th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

8. Sunday, November 26^th – Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons – Message from the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN):

“As governments, experts and campaigners get ready for a week of building on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, join the international day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)! All around the world, people will be taking action to show the delegations in New York that we expect them to be bold, courageous and use the TPNW to dismantle nuclear deterrence, and make sure the rest of the world is paying attention to this crucial opportunity.”

Funding may be available.  Add your action to the international calendar at:  https://www.icanw.org/2msp_global_day_of_action

9. Monday, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

10. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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

Please join the effort to submit public comments in support of the excavation of a 12-acre unlined dump at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Public comments are due to the New Mexico Environment Department by Monday, November 6^th at 5 pm Mountain Time.   Email your comments to neelam.dhawan@env.nm.gov or use the NMED Public Comment Portal at https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search for the NMED Statement of Basis Material Disposal Area C at Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

According to LANL logbooks, the dump called Material Disposal Area C, or MDA C, first received radioactive, toxic and hazardous liquid, gaseous and solid wastes in 1948.  Disposal operations ended in 1974.  There are six disposal pits, one chemical disposal pit, and 108 shafts.  All are unlined, which allows the buried wastes to migrate into water, air, and soil.  For the past 75 years, contaminated waste has been migrating towards regional drinking water supplies.

As required by the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, in September the Department released a Statement of Basis in support of its decision to excavate MDA C.  230907 HWB_LANL_Statement-of-Basis-MDA-C  Citing examples of excavation of other alphabetically-named MDAs, including B and P, NMED made the case that excavation is the most protective alternative.  Please support the NMED decision by submitting your comments.

For more information go to:  https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search and scroll down to Material Disposal Area (MDA) C, SWMU 50-009, Remediation for the Public Notice, Statement of Basis, June 30, 2021 DOE/LANL Corrective Measures Evaluation Rev. 1 for MDA C, and the Index to the Administrative Record for MDA C Statement of Basis.

The Department explained that volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are present directly below the dump at depths of approximately 600 feet below ground surface, demonstrating an estimated travel time of 8 feet per year.  Some VOCs can cause cancer; others react to form air pollutants once they are in the air.

The Department stated, “For maximum protection of public and environmental health and safety, and to ensure that the drinking water resource can be conservatively protected, [the Department] has determined that … excavation, plume monitoring, and institutional controls, along with a passive and active soil-vapor extraction system at MDA C to remove the waste and eliminate the VOC contaminate source detected in soil … is the most appropriate cleanup measure.” 

LANL’s preferred plan included installation of an evapotranspiration, or ET, cover over the dump.  The Department raised concerns that burrowing animals and deep roots have penetrated other ET covers and opened pathways for contaminants to escape.  Even with LANL’s “institutional controls” to monitor groundwater for 100 years, during that time the contamination would migrate 800 feet deeper into the regional drinking water aquifer.

Public comments are due to the Environment Department on Monday, November 6^th by 5 pm Mountain.  CCNS has prepared sample public comments you can use to support the Environment Department’s recommendation to protect drinking water through the excavation of the MDA C dump.  231026 MDA C sample comment letter to NMED

1. Friday, October 27th 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. Saturday, October 28^th from 2 – 5 pm – Halloween Skate Jam! At Valdez Park, 720 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Road, Española. This free event is open to everyone and is organized by Tewa Women United’s Gender Justice Program and A’Gin Healthy Sexuality & Body Sovereignty Project.  https://tewawomenunited.org/events/halloween-skate-jam

3. Monday, October 30^th at 8 am MT, 10 am ET – 15th Official Cold War Patriots National Day of Remembrance, a 15-minute virtual ceremony that recognizes those who worked in the nuclear weapons and uranium industries and honors those who are no longer with us. Register at https://app.livestorm.co/cold-war-patriots/2023cwpndr?utm_source=cwp%20website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ndr%202023&utm_term=ndra

4. Wednesday, November 8^th virtual conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine from 9 am to 6 pm ET. Sponsored by the New York Bar Association, International Section.  https://nysba.org/events/nuclear-weapons-and-international-law-the-renewed-imperative-in-light-of-the-ukraine-war/

5. Thursday, November 9^th by 5 pm MT – Comments due on the draft Community Relations Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). https://wipp.energy.gov/community-outreach.asp

6. Thursday, November 16^th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

 Community members may review Air Force Environmental Restoration Program documents by visiting the Kirtland AFB website at https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/ or the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center Administrative Record website AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

7. Friday, November 17^th – Saturday, November 18^th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24^th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

8. Monday, November 27^th to Friday, December 1^st – Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

9. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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

Holtec International, a corporation with a license for a consolidated interim storage facility in southeastern New Mexico for 173,600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel from atomic power plants, submitted a secret application to the Department of Energy seeking at least $2 billion dollars to restart Palisades, a closed nuclear reactor in Michigan.  Holtec’s request also includes plans to build small nuclear modular reactors, or SMRs, with electric generation capacity of 160 Megawatts, on site.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) made by Beyond Nuclear the public learned that Holtec also plans to restart the reactors not only at Palisades, but other shutdown nuclear power plants at Oyster Creek in New Jersey; Pilgrim in Massachusetts; Indian Point in New York, and another shutdown reactor in Michigan at Big Rock Point. Holtec acquired the shutdown reactors under the false pretense to decommission them using ratepayer money, while at the same time submitting applications to DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy for taxpayer funding.  https://beyondnuclear.org/5775-2/

Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Beyond Nuclear based in Takoma Park, Maryland, and a member of the Don’t Waste Michigan board of directors, filed the FOIA with the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.  The 967-page response included Holtec’s application to DOE.

The application shows that Holtec never intended to decommission Palisades, despite repeatedly telling the public that was its objective in taking ownership of the atomic power plant.  The introduction to the application makes Holtec’s intent clear:

“Despite the success in decommissioning, we are not loath to admit that we are unabashed promoters of nuclear energy…In fact, one of the principal reasons Holtec has been acquiring aging nuclear plants is because such sites are near-perfect locations for building the SMR-160 reactors that the company has been developing for over a decade.”

In fact, in one application to DOE, entitled the “Palisades Resurrection Grant Request” states, “We believe that with a strong spirit of collaboration this project, with each party performing its role, can well become a shining talisman for the global nuclear industry.”

Holtec holds a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license, issued in 2023, to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility in New Mexico on lands 16 miles north of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  https://www.nrc.gov/cdn/doc-collection-news/2023/23-031.pdf  and https://www.swalliance.org/

Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, “Given new revelations about Holtec’s clandestine plans and falsehoods, as New Mexicans, it is critical that we remain vigilant in our opposition to Holtec’s plans here and everywhere.”

1. Friday, October 20th 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. Saturday, October 21^st from 9 am to 12 noon – Community Morning in the Garden at the Española Healing Foods Oasis (EHFO) with Tewa Women United Environmental Justice staff and EHFO garden caretakers! This is the last volunteer work day of the year!  Lend a hand to the caretaking of the Healing Foods Oasis and learn more about the plants and growing practices.  https://tewawomenunited.org/espanola-healing-foods-oasis     All tools will be supplied, as well as light refreshments and water.  For more information and to RSVP, please contact kayleigh@tewawomenunited.org or call (505) 927-4376.

3. Thursday, October 26^th at 6 pm MT – U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) semi-annual public meeting virtual joint meeting about their environmental programs. Please see attached flyer for more information and links to join the meeting.  DOE SNL KAFB AGENDA Public Meeting October 2023

4. Monday, October 30^th at 8 am MT, 10 am ET – 15th Official Cold War Patriots National Day of Remembrance, a 15-minute virtual ceremony that recognizes those who worked in the nuclear weapons and uranium industries and honors those who are no longer with us. Register at https://app.livestorm.co/cold-war-patriots/2023cwpndr?utm_source=cwp%20website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ndr%202023&utm_term=ndra

5. Friday, December 15^th – Holloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins 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