Objections to Proposed LANL Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade due Monday, October 28th

The U.S. Forest Service is accepting public objections to the draft Decision Notice, Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Electric Power Capacity Upgrade (EPCU) Project and Associated Land Management Plan (Forest Plan) Amendment.  Only those who submitted comments during the scoping period that occurred between April 19, 2021 and May 21, 2021 and during the two comment periods for the draft EA beginning December 19, 2023 and ending January 17, 2024 and beginning January 22, 2024 and ending February 20, 2024 are eligible to submit objections.  As evidence of public concern, over 22,000 public comments were submitted during these comment periods.  https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63199

The deadline to submit objections to the Forest Service is Monday, October 28th, 2024, by 11:59 pm Mountain Time.

On September 11th, 2024, the Forest Service released its draft Decision Notice and FONSI for the proposed project that would amend the Forest Plan with the establishment of  a new management area, known as the S/N Transmission Line Utility Corridor Management Area, along with other associated amendments relating to construction of new utility infrastructure and changes to scenery and recreation classification systems.  The Forest Service decision would also include a special use permit for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous part of the Department of Energy (DOE), to construct and operate a 115-kilovolt (kV) electric line across National Forest System lands.  The proposed route cuts through the heart of the Caja del Rio traditional cultural landscape, an area sacred to Pueblos.  https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//ReadingRoom?Project=63199

On June 27th, 2024, the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG) passed APCG Resolution 2024-01, which called on DOE and NNSA to pause the planning process so that a Pueblo-led ethnographic study could be conducted across the entire Caja del Rio.  Tribes and the public have also urged the agencies to conduct a full environmental impact study.  https://apcg.org/

In early 2025, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and NNSA will issue their own decisions. BLM and NNSA will each provide comment periods.

The public is challenged to navigate the convoluted administrative processes that  involve six federal agencies with at least four different sets of administrative rules and procedures, all under the rubic of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).  The primary question is:  Did these agencies fully comply with NEPA and NHPA?  Tribes and the public continue to say,  “No, they haven’t;” clearly demonstrating that the Caja del Rio deserves permanent protection.

1. Friday, October 18^th at noon at the intersection of West Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament. Join the weekly peaceful protest with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners!

2. Saturday, October 19^th after 10:30 am Get Out the Vote March and Rally. March from East Alameda and Paseo de Peralta to the east side of the NM Roundhouse (Capitol).  At 11:30 am there will be speeches by Senator Heinrich, Representatives Stansbury and Leger Fernandez, VP Harris surrogate Tina Smith (Senator from Minnesota), former Zuni Pueblo Governor, state senators, and others.  Bring signs and flags.  In the alternative, join the Raging Grannies at 11 am for a sing-along on the east side of the Roundhouse.  Free parking at the PERA Building, 413 Old Santa Fe Trail.

3. Saturday, October 19^th – Trinity Site Open House. https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

4. Monday, October 21^st from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm – Virtual Public Training for LANL’s Electronic Public Reading Rooms (EPRRs) and IntellusNM on WebEx. The LANL EPRR and the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup EPRR are LANL information repositories for environmental and administrative information and correspondence. http://eprr.lanl.gov  The IntellusNM is the data portal providing continuous public access to environmental data collected on and around LANL.  https://IntellusNM.com    

 Unfortunately, the link provided by DOE, Triad National Security and N3B, the LANL Cleanup Contractor, doesn’t work.  To get the links, go to page 3 of the LANL document at:  file:///Users/ccns/Downloads/LA-UR-24-29716-7.pdf

5. Thursday, October 24^th from 4 to 6 pm at Highlands University, Student Union Building, Room 320, 800 National Avenue, Las Vegas, NM – WIPP Community Forum and Open House. https://wipp.energy.gov/Library/documents/2024/Oct24CommunityForum.pdf

6. Thursday, October 24^th from 6 pm to 8 pm – DOE Office of Environmental Management, Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) and its contractor, N3B Community Meeting about the fiscal year 2024 Year in Review and a community conversation on the legacy waste cleanup, including Q&A. https://losalamosreporter.com/2024/10/14/doe-em-la-and-n3b-to-discuss-cleanup-progress-at-environmental-management-cleanup-forum-oct-24/

For meeting information, including login details, visit: https://n3b-la.com/emcf_oct_24_2024/

When: Thursday, October 24, 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. MDT

Where: In-person and virtual

In-person—SALA Event Center, 2551 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, NM

Virtual—ViaMicrosoft Teams  –  Click here to join the meeting.

Join By Meeting Number 

Meeting ID: 284 616 926 592

Meeting Password: UgBMtX

Or Call In (audio only)  – (323) 486-1924

Phone Conference ID: 842 206 352#

7. You may ask: Why are there three DOE meetings in the same week?  Poor planning by the DOE nuclear weapons and waste programs. 

Tags: All Pueblo Council of Governors, amend July 2022 Santa Fe National Forest Land Management Plan, APCG, APCG Resolution 2024-01, BLM, Bureau of Land Management, Caja del Rio Plateau, conduct full environmental impact statement, Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact, Department of Energy, DOE, EA, Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade, EPCU, final Environmental Assessment, FONSI, LANL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MA, meaningful tribal consultations, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, NNSA, Pueblo-led ethnographic study, Rio Grande, S/N Transmission Line Utility Corridor Management Area, scoping comments, special use permit, U.S. Forest Service