In the face of continuing problems and escalating costs for expanded production of plutonium “pit” bomb cores for nuclear weapons, U.S. Congressman John Garamendi, of California, has offered common sense provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for plutonium pit accountability.  https://garamendi.house.gov/

Garamendi’s provisions require:

• An integrated master schedule for the overall plutonium pit production effort of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), including timelines, required resources, and budgets for planned work;
• A holistic programmatic environmental impact statement on expanded plutonium pit production that accounts for all simultaneous pit production at multiple sites; and
• An independent review of plutonium pit lifetimes.

The provisions were adopted all at the same time without debate or controversy into the House NDAA bill.  After the bill passes the House, it will head to the Senate.

The provisions are important to hold the Department of Energy (DOE) and NNSA accountable.  The federal agencies do not have an integrated master schedule for the overall expansion of plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the only facility with the capabilities to fabricate plutonium pits.  Since 2017, the escalating budget for LANL has doubled from $2.4 billion to nearly $5 billion dollars with little or no accountability.

DOE and NNSA have refused to prepare a new site-wide environmental impact statement (EIS) for LANL.  The current site-wide analysis was completed in 2008 – 14 years ago.  Generally a new site-wide is done every 10 years.

The fact that a new site-wide has not been done means that none of the proposed expansion of LANL in support of pit production has been subject to public review and comment.  http://nuclearactive.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SFCC-2021-LANL-SWEIS-Request-Resolution.pdf

Further, an independent review of how long a plutonium pit will last, or its lifetime, is essential to determine whether LANL expansion is even needed.

In Northern New Mexico, LANL is expanding its footprint across the sacred Pajarito Plateau, with plans to build a bridge over the Rio Grande to reduce commute travel times.  It is also is upgrading the decades old Plutonium Facility, which sits on the Pajarito Fault Zone.  http://nuclearactive.org/ongoing-seismic-concerns-at-lanl-and-expanded-plutonium-pit-production/  Despite the lack of timely analysis with public review and comment, these expansion plans are proceeding

DOE and NNSA also propose to utilize their Savannah River Site in South Carolina for pit production.  A programmatic EIS is needed to address proposed pit production at both LANL and Savannah River.

The NDAA is expected to move to the House floor next week.  Please contact your representative and senators and urge them to support Garamendi’s plutonium pit accountability provisions.   It is time to hold DOE and NNSA accountable for its plans to expand plutonium pit production at LANL and the Savannah River Site.  https://nukewatch.org/ , https://srswatch.org/ , https://trivalleycares.org/

1. You heard about it or read about it, now you can view for yourself: The July 7th Fiasco DOE/WIPP “Community Forum and Open House” presentation and video recording at https://wipp.energy.gov/presentations.asp

2. July 13, 2022: NRC released Final Environmental Impact Statement for Holtec Site in Southeastern New Mexico.  https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html

3. Friday, July 15^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe. Celebrate the successful historic First Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and talk about next steps!

4. Saturday, July 16^th, at 7 am – 1 pm: 43^rd Uranium Tailings Spill Legacy Commemoration – 12 miles north of Red Rock State Park on Hwy 566 near Church Rock, NM.  For more information, call 505 577-8438 and https://swuraniumimpacts.org/

5. Saturday, July 16^th – 13^th Annual Candlelight Vigil (beginning at 8 pm at the Little League Field) and Town Hall (from 2 to 4 pm at the Tularosa Community Center), Tularosa, NM. For more information, https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/  

     6. Thursday, July 21^st from 6 to 8 pm – Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility Open House – in person event.  For more information, please contact Brannon Lamar at 377 Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email at 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

7. Saturday, August 6^th from noon to 2 pm at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos – the Santa Fe Chapter of Veterans for Peace will host the 77^th commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Wage Peace and Nuclear Abolition!  Stay tuned here for more details.     

8. Tuesday, August 9^th at 5:15 pm Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and Panel Discussion with Prominent Interfaith Leaders at 6:15 pm. Join Most Rev. John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe.  His homily will be centered on his pastoral letter on nuclear disarmament, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace:  A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.”  For more information,  https://archdiosf.org/living-in-the-light-of-christs-peace     

Holtec International recently purchased two shutdown nuclear power plants in Michigan to create a supply chain of spent fuel rods for its proposed consolidated interim storage facility in southeastern New Mexico’s Permian Basin.    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is expected to issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement this month and an operating license in early 2023 for the proposed “temporary” storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.  https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html

Having a license is only one of many steps needed for spent fuel to come to New Mexico.  The state governments of New Mexico and Texas, along with environmental and safe-energy groups, are challenging the Holtec license application in federal court.  http://nuclearactive.org/all-pueblo-council-of-governors-oppose-holtec-and-wcs-isp/ ;  http://nuclearactive.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Attorney_General_Balderas_Announces_Lawsuit_to_Halt_Holtec_Nuclear_Storage_Facility.pdf ; https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2021/09/27/texas-sues-block-nuclear-waste-facility-along-new-mexico-border/5883388001/  New Mexico would also have to issue several permits before the site could receive any waste.

At the end of June, Entergy finalized the sale to Holtec of two permanently shutdown nuclear power plants, the Palisades https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Nuclear_Generating_Station and Big Rock Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rock_Point_Nuclear_Power_Plant , both located on the shoreline of Michigan’s Lake Michigan.  The NRC then transferred the licenses from Entergy to Holtec.

In early 2021 a coalition of environmental groups challenged the proposed license transfers.  The groups are Don’t Waste Michigan https://www.dontwastemichigan.org/ , Beyond Nuclear https://beyondnuclear.org/ , Michigan Safe Energy Future http://michigansafeenergyfuture.org/index.html , Michigan Safe Energy Future – Kalamazoo Chapter http://michigansafeenergyfuture.org/index.html , and Palisades Shutdown Campaign http://michigansafeenergyfuture.org/palisades-shutdown-campaign.html .   But the court has yet to issue any rulings on the challenges.

Upon learning about the license transfers, Terry Lodge, an attorney based in Toledo, Ohio who serves as the environmental coalition’s legal counsel, asked, “When do we get our day in court?”

Lodge added, “We filed numerous contentions opposing Holtec’s takeover, including its unacceptably shallow radiological contamination cleanup plans, its scheme to barge highly radioactive wastes on Lake Michigan to the port of Muskegon, and its corrupt corporate character, including its involvement in bribery scandals.”  https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2018/05/25/Activist-attorney-Terry-Lodge-receives-national-award.html ;  https://beyondnuclear.org/public-stonewalled-in-holtec-takeover-of-palisades-and-big-rock-point-atomic-reactor-sites-entergy-confirms-license-transfer-no-nrc-public-hearings-held/

Many in New Mexico are opposed to the Holtec proposal because the “temporary” facility would become a de facto permanent site.  There is no permanent repository so once the spent fuel came to New Mexico, there would be no way to require it to move to a repository.

Don Hancock, of Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque, asked why New Mexico should store the waste when there are no nuclear power plants in New Mexico.  He questioned the risks of transporting highly radioactive spent fuel rods along waterways and through communities, ranches and farms.  He also said that New Mexicans did not need to accept the risk of an interim storage site, which could become a permanent storage site.  http://sric.org/

1. Thursday, July 7^th at 5: 30 pm – in person and virtual WIPP Community Forum & Open House at Santa Fe Convention Center in Okeefe and Milagro Rooms, 201 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe.  Open house to follow where stakeholders can meet the WIPP leadership team.  Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) and Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP).  http://nuclearactive.org/wipp-to-stay-open-forever-speak-up-at-the-july-7th-wipp-community-forum/

2. Friday, July 8^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe. Celebrate the successful historic First Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and talk about next steps!

3. Tuesday, July 12^th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – LANL Meeting about proposed amendments to the TA-16-399 Closure Plan for Open Burning Treatment Unit at LANL. For more information, contact Steven Horak at envoutreach@lanl.gov

4. Saturday, July 16^th, at 7 am – 1 pm: 43^rd Uranium Tailings Spill Legacy Commemoration – 12 miles north of Red Rock State Park on Hwy 566 near Church Rock, NM.  For more information, call 505 577-8438 and https://swuraniumimpacts.org/

5. Saturday, July 16^th – 13^th Annual Candlelight Vigil (beginning at 8 pm at the Little League Field) and Town Hall (from 2 to 4 pm at the Tularosa Community Center), Tularosa, NM. For more information, https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/  

Did you know that the Department of Energy (DOE) plans to continue disposing of plutonium-contaminated radioactive and hazardous waste in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) essentially forever?  In filings submitted to the New Mexico Environment Department on Monday, DOE stated, “[the] final facility closure could begin no earlier than [Calendar Year] 2083.”  https://wipp.energy.gov/Library/Information_Repository_A/Technical_Incompleteness_Determinations/22-0225_Letter_Redacted.pdf , p. 2 of 11.

On Thursday, July 7^th, beginning at 5:30 pm, DOE will host a virtual and in-person WIPP Community Forum and Open House in Santa Fe.  It will take place at the Santa Fe Convention Center in the O’Keefe and Milagro Rooms, located at 201 West Marcy Street.  An agenda has yet to be posted.  Virtual attendees may ask questions and make comments via the chat.  https://www.wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20220623.asp

For decades prior to WIPP’s opening on March 26, 1999, DOE declared that in 25 years it would be able to cleanup all the plutonium-contaminated waste generated by the fabrication of the plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons and begin final facility closure.  As a result, the New Mexico state hazardous waste permit anticipates closure in 2024.  https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/  and  WIPP Attachment G Closure Plan 02-202

DOE now wants no closure date when the permit is renewed next year.   https://wipp.energy.gov/2022-information-repository-documents.asp , see documents under Ten Year Permit Renewal Application.   That’s because DOE has no other waste repository.

But DOE plans to make new, more dangerous types of plutonium-contaminated waste and newly generated waste from ramping up the fabrication of the triggers, or plutonium pits, at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Those plans include the production of at least 30 pits per year at LANL.  DOE also proposes for LANL to process about 100,000 pounds of plutonium pits into powder form.  http://nuclearactive.org/new-mexico-governors-wipp-task-force-holds-meeting/

More waste means much more transportation for decades, including on the roadways around Santa Fe.

When faced with similar waste at the Rocky Flats Plant, Colorado said, “No more.”  Much of that waste was shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory, but Idaho said it could not stay and WIPP had to open.

You may ask:  Does New Mexico have the same rights and tools to prevent all of the waste from coming to WIPP?   The answer is, “Yes.”  The WIPP hazardous waste permit is one tool, and public involvement in the permit renewal is required.

In addition, a 1981 lawsuit by then Attorney General Jeff Bingaman against the DOE resulted in a legally enforceable Consultation and Cooperation Agreement that limits the amount of waste that may be disposed at WIPP.  http://nuclearactive.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Consultation-and-Cooperation-Agreement-as-of-August-1988cut.pdf

It’s time to demand that New Mexico use all its tools.  One place to do that is at the July 7^th Community Forum.

To register for the Community Forum, go to https://www.wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20220623.asp

You are invited to join the WIPP and DOE Facility Mailing Lists 

Take the opportunity to participate in the ten-year renewal of the hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is required to maintain a WIPP Facility Mailing List to which you can add your name and address to get the latest information.

You can receive information by either email or snail mail—whichever you prefer.

Just email Ricardo Maestas at the Environment Department at ricardo.maestas@state.nm.us and ask to be added to the WIPP list.

Or mail your request to:

Ricardo Maestas

New Mexico Environment Department

Hazardous Waste Bureau

2905 Rodeo Park East, Bldg. 1

Santa Fe, NM 87505

WIPP also uses the facility mailing list to inform you about other opportunities

to provide public comments 

NMED is required by regulation to maintain a Facility Mailing List as part of its oversight of the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (Permit). NMED, as well as the Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (together, the Permittees), use this list to inform interested members of the public of public meetings, comment periods for proposed modifications to the permit and draft permits, final NMED administrative actions on permit decisions, and opportunities to appeal those actions, etc.

The Permittees are required per Permit Part 1, Section 1.11 to maintain a separate email notification list. The Permittees use this list to notify members of the public concerning actions such as reporting planned changes, reporting anticipated noncompliance, exceedance of repository Volatile Organic Compounds, etc.

If you wish to subscribe to the Permittees’ email notification list separately, email the WIPP Information Center at the following address: INFOCNTR@WIPP.WS

Listas de Correo de Permisos de la Instalación de Residuos Peligrosos de WIPP

El Departamento de Medio Ambiente de Nuevo México (NMED, por sus siglas en inglés) está obligado por reglamento a mantener una Lista de Correo de la Instalación como parte de la supervisión del Permiso de Instalación de Residuos Peligrosos (Permiso) de la Planta Piloto de Aislamiento de Residuos (WIPP, por sus siglas en inglés). El NMED, así como el Departamento de Energía y Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (colectivamente, los Permisionarios), utilizan esta lista para informar a las partes interesadas, incluidos miembros del público interesados, de los períodos de comentarios para las solicitudes de modificación de permisos, borradores de permisos y las acciones administrativas finales de NMED sobre las decisiones de permisos, etc. Si desea agregar su nombre a la Lista de Correo de la Instalación WIPP de NMED, notifique a Ricardo Maestas por correo electrónico a ricardo.maestas@state.nm.us, o por correo postal a Ricardo Maestas, New Mexico Environment Department-Hazardous Waste Bureau, 2905 Rodeo Park East, Bldg. 1, Santa Fe, NM 87505. Incluya su nombre, correo electrónico (método de comunicación preferido para ahorrar recursos) o dirección postal, y organización, si la hay.

Los Permisionarios están obligados, según la Sección 1.11 de la Parte 1 del Permiso a mantener una lista separada de notificaciones por correo electrónico. Los Permisionarios utilizan esta lista para notificar a los miembros del público sobre acciones como la notificación de cambios planificados, notificación de incumplimientos anticipados, exceso de depósito de Compuestos Orgánicos Volátiles, etc. Si desea suscribirse a la lista de notificaciones por correo electrónico de los Permisionarios, envíe un correo electrónico al Centro de Información de WIPP a la siguiente dirección: INFOCNTR@WIPP.WS.

1. Friday, July 1^st from noon to 1 pm – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe. Celebrate the successful historic First Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and talk about next steps!

2. Thursday, July 7^th at 5: 30 pm – WIPP Community Forum & Open House at Santa Fe Convention Center in Okeefe and Milagro Rooms, 201 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe. In person and virtual.   Open house to follow where stakeholders can meet the WIPP leadership team.  Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) and Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP).  See today’s CCNS News Update.

3. Tuesday, July 12^th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – LANL Meeting about proposed amendments to the TA-16-399 Closure Plan for Open Burning Treatment Unit at LANL. For more information, contact Steven Horak at envoutreach@lanl.gov

4. Saturday, July 16^th, at 7 am – 1 pm: 43^rd Uranium Tailings Spill Legacy Commemoration – 12 miles north of Red Rock State Park on Hwy 566 near Church Rock, NM.  For more information, call 505 577-8438 and https://swuraniumimpacts.org/     FLYER: 2022 43rd Uranium Spill Commemoration Flyer

5. Saturday, July 16^th – 13^th Annual Candlelight Vigil (beginning at 8 pm at the Little League Field) and Town Hall (from 2 to 4 pm at the Tularosa Community Center), Tularosa, NM. For more information, https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/  

This week before the start of the First Meeting of States Parties for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna, three countries deposited their ratification documents with the United Nations.  Grenada, Cabot Verde, and Timor Leste joined 62 countries to ratify the treaty, for a total of 65.  One-third of the world’s 195 countries have now ratified the Treaty.  https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

On Sunday, June 19^th, 2022, Ralph Hutchinson, of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, offered the following observations before the First Meeting in his commentary, News on the Eve of the First Meeting, in which he asked two questions about why the United States of America is not participating nor sending observers.  https://orepa.org/   Hutchinson wrote:

“Germany is going. And Norway and The Netherlands. Yesterday, Australia announced it is going. And today Belgium.

“What is the United States afraid of?

“Why is the USA, along with eight other nuclear-armed states, boycotting the historic First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons taking place in Vienna June 21-23?

“The First Meeting was originally scheduled for one year after the entry into force, but covid pushed it back. It is a brief meeting, just three days. States party to the Treaty will attend along with countless members of civil society. Non-party states, like the US, are also invited to attend in Observer status. Organizations in the US representing hundreds of thousands of members have written to the President, urging him to send a representative. Several members of Congress have also written to the President, urging the same thing.

“But the US continues to lead the staunch resistance to the Treaty. More than one US President has declared that we have a special obligation to lead the effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons—our current position on the Treaty turns this obligation on its head.

“Happily for the future, though, our leadership powers appear to be dwindling. Several NATO countries, including three that currently have US nuclear weapons deployed on military bases in their country — Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands — have announced they will attend the First Meeting. Two other important US allies, Norway and Australia, will also send observers.

“As the power of the United States and other nuclear armed states declines in the face of the growing influence of the Treaty, two questions come to mind—

“First, what is the US afraid of?  With a stockpile of more than 4,000 nuclear warheads and bombs, 1500 of them deployed around the globe on hair-trigger alert, one would think the US would be strong enough to walk into a room where the only weapons allowed are words and defend its position.  And, if it is committed to pursue nuclear disarmament as it promised in the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it should welcome the chance to talk about what that could look like— all the nuclear armed nations coming to an agreement on protocols, verifications, and an enforceable timetable for eliminating nuclear stockpiles.

“It’s not hard to understand why North Korea is not at the First Meeting — they have something to be afraid of. They are weak and vulnerable without their small cache of nuclear weapons, and US policy gives them every reason to be afraid. But the US?

“The second question is, what is to come?  The [Treaty] is destined to grow as more nations ratify it—86 nations have signed and 6[5] of them have ratified it.  The [Treaty] is their demand—they have the right to live free from the threat of nuclear annihilation. They know that even a moderate nuclear exchange between two countries half way around the world can destroy them through fallout and the global famine caused by the decade-long nuclear winter that will follow.

“As the Treaty grows in power, and as its central message takes hold — that discussions about nuclear weapons must include the human and environmental cost of these weapons, a price some have already paid and the rest will one day pay if we don’t eliminate nuclear weapons — pressure will mount on the nuclear-armed states.

“Vladimir Putin’s bully rhetoric as he invaded Ukraine laid bare the nuclear threat. It is real. Putin could never have invaded Ukraine without widespread opposition if he wasn’t backed up by his nuclear weapons. He didn’t have to make his threat explicit to the US and NATO, but he did, and other people noticed and began thinking about nuclear weapons for the first time in decades.

“What happens when Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands decide not to continue to host US/NATO nuclear weapons on their soil? Will Italy and Turkey follow suit? Will the US try to strongarm some other country into taking the nukes? Will we hear that as the call of the future? Or will we hunker down, isolated even more, depending even more on our nuclear weapons to certify our strength rather than relying on the strength inherent in the people, the resources, and the political commitment to democracy of our nation?

“The decision by NATO nations and other allies to attend the First Meeting of States Parties is ground-breaking and it portends a shift that is coming. Nuclear weapons, and the nations that continue to maintain stockpiles, will be further stigmatized; we will find ourselves on the periphery of the community of nations in ways that truly matter.

“The ICAN’s [International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’] Beatrice Fihn has noted that the story of nuclear weapons will have one of two endings — either we will get rid of nuclear weapons or they will get rid of us. There is no other ending.  She is right, of course. As long as nuclear weapons exist in the world, the first ending is a possibility that grows ever more probable. The recent action by Putin, and North Korea’s continuing missile testing are a wake-up call to those who stopped paying attention, thinking it couldn’t happen.

“It can happen, and it will one day. Intentionally, or accidentally, a mistake, a hack—unless we do the only thing we can do to make sure it does not happen. We have to get rid of the weapons. The path to the future is titled ‘The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.’  The US should be leading the world down this path.  We have an obligation like no other.”

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, the States Parties adopted the Vienna Declaration and the Vienna Action Plan at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  For more information, please see ICAN’s  Overview_of_the_Vienna_Declaration_and_Action_Plan_-_formatted_.    

Congratulations ICAN and its partners, donors, states and more that helped make this historic day a reality!

1. Friday, June 24^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe. Celebrate the successful historic First Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!

2. Friday, June 24^th from 1:30 to 4 pm – Celebrate Dorie Bunting’s 100^th birthday at Albuquerque Peace & Justice Peace Hall, 202 Harvard Drive SE. (505) 268-9557.  No gifts, please, but donations to the P&J Center are accepted.

3. Saturday, July 2nd at 12 noon Mountain Time – John Dear and Archbishop John Wester of New Mexico present the Archbishop’s recent pastoral letter in a talk entitled, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: My New Pastoral Letter on Nuclear Disarmament.”  The Archbishop will reflect on his journey, what he’s learned, and how we, too, can speak out for nuclear disarmament.  Register at https://beatitudescenter.org/programs/#july2-2022  Registration closes Monday, June 27th.

4. Thursday, July 7^th at 5: 30 pm – WIPP Community Forum & Open House at Santa Fe Convention Center in Okeefe and Milagro Rooms, 201 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe. In person and virtual.   Open house to follow where stakeholders can meet the WIPP leadership team.  Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) and Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP).  Virtual – REGISTER HERE – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEuduqsqz4qH9PEL2Rbp3U5Ae7vkXDv-LAD   For questions regarding this meeting and open house please contact the WIPP Information Center at infocntr@wipp.ws or by calling 1-800-336-9477.

If you were in charge of allocating U.S. taxpayer money, would you invest $84,094 per minute for nuclear weapons?  What would your priorities be?  The human needs of the 140 million people in the U.S. who are poor and one emergency away from economic ruin?  Education?  Health care?  Transportation infrastructure?  Taking holistic care of water, air and soil?  The possibilities are endless.

In a new report, Squandered:  2021 Global Nuclear Weapons Spending, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) reveals that last year the U.S. spent over $44 billion on its nuclear arsenal.  Forty-four billion is over half of the total spending of the other eight nuclear armed countries combined.  The nine countries spent over $82 billion in 2021, which is $6.5 billion more than they spent in 2020.  https://www.icanw.org/spending_report

The nine nuclear-armed countries are:  China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.  https://www.icanw.org/nuclear_arsenals

In New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the nuclear weapons agency, has proposed a budget of $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2023, beginning on October 1^st.  In fiscal year 2022, DOE spent about $8 billion on nuclear weapons in New Mexico.  6-3-22 ABQ Journal-Nuclear weapons spending to get boost in NM

Nuclear weapons are at the fore at the First Meeting of the States Parties for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna, Austria beginning on Tuesday, June 21^st through Thursday, June 23^rd.  https://www.icanw.org/

Article I of the Treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, manufacture, acquisition, and possession or stockpiling nuclear weapons.  It also prohibits threatening to use them.  https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

To learn more about the Treaty and to register for virtual Nuclear Ban Week Vienna events, beginning on Saturday, June 18^th, go to https://vienna.icanw.org/

Coincidentally, on Saturday, June 18^th in Washington, DC, the Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls will take place.  The march will address the spending priorities of the U.S.  They march “because any nation that ignores nearly half of its citizens is in a moral, economic and political crisis. There were 140 million people who were poor or one emergency away from economic ruin before the pandemic.”  To learn more, go to https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/#why-we-march

In New Mexico, despite all the federal funding for nuclear weapons, we rank 50^th in child well-being and 50^th in education.  It is time for an equitable economic transition.  6-12-22 SFNM-My View Ahtza Chavez and Melanie Aranda

1. Today, Thursday, June 16^th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – in person and virtual community meeting hosted by DOE’s Environmental Management at Los Alamos (EM-LA).

In-person:  Fuller Lodge, 2132 Central Ave. Los Alamos, NM

Virtual:  For login information, visit www.n3b-la.com/outreach 

2. Friday, June 17^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the Raging Grannies in song and comradery at the weekly peaceful protest on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe. The Raging Grannies are from a generation when protest songs were the heart of every protest. They are reviving that tradition by bringing songs, enthusiasm, and their grandmotherly wisdom to marches and rallies. Though Raging Grannies have been active in many cities including Albuquerque for decades, we now have a newly formed Santa Fe gaggle of Grannies. Come and sing along!

3. Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC – Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls – Promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as a critical part of the wider movement for peace and justice in this country and beyond.  https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/

4. Saturday, June 18^th through Thursday, June 23^rd is Nuclear Ban Week Vienna. For more information about all of the live and FREE virtual events taking place, visit:  last week’s CCNS News Update at http://nuclearactive.org/take-action-support-the-treaty-on-the-prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons-and-encourage-the-media-to-cover-it/ and the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons at https://vienna.icanw.org/ Get your registrations in now as there are cut off dates!

5. Friday, June 24^th from 1:30 to 4 pm – Celebrate Dorie Bunting’s 100^th birthday at Albuquerque Peace & Justice Peace Hall, 202 Harvard Drive SE. (505) 268-9557.  No gifts, please, but donations to the P&J Center are accepted.

This is the third annual report documenting massive investments in global nuclear weapons spending. Through an ever changing and challenging security environment, from security threats of climate change to the COVID-19 pandemic to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear weapons spending has steadily increased, with no resulting measurable improvement on the security environment.

As companies throw money at lobbyists and researchers to assert the continued relevance and value of nuclear weapons, the record shows the inutility of weapons of mass destruction to address modern security challenges – and the legitimate fear that they can end civilization as we know it.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the multilateral response to the irresponsible behavior of all nuclear-armed states to pour money down their nuclear weapons drains. It is the normative barricade against threats to use nuclear weapons. All countries should join this landmark international instrument to prohibit the development and maintenance of nuclear weapons and prevent their eventual use by ensuring their elimination.

While you may not be able to travel to Vienna, Austria for the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), you can sign the online Statement on the Existential Threat of Nuclear Weapons.  It supports the Treaty and encourages the media to include the Treaty in all nuclear weapons coverage.  The Nuclear Ban Treaty Collaborative created the Statement.  https://nuclearbantreaty.org/

To save you some time and pique your interest, the Statement’s text reads:

STATEMENT ON THE EXISTENTIAL THREAT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND ON THE TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

“The power to initiate a global apocalypse lies in the hands of the leaders of nine nations.

“As 122 nations of the world indicated when they adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in July, 2017, this is unacceptable.

“As concerns about the threat of nuclear weapons re-enter the public consciousness, it is important to know that humankind is not without an answer to the nuclear threat.  The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on January 22, 2021, provides a clear pathway to the elimination of the nuclear threat.

“We call on all nuclear armed states to take immediate steps to:

“engage the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,

“attend the First Meeting of States Parties, and

“sign, ratify and implement the Treaty.

“We also call on the US media to recognize the existence of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to include the Treaty in discussions, articles, and editorials regarding the nuclear threat and methods available to address it.”

Already over 150 non-governmental organizations representing hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. as well as by hundreds of individuals have signed the Statement.  A full list can be found at https://nuclearbantreaty.org/ .  Join them!

Check out the KVOA News4Tucson coverage our colleagues at the Nuclear Resister received about their June 7, 2022 protest at the Raytheon facility in Tucson.  http://www.nukeresister.org/  Raytheon is manufacturing the Long-Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO) – a nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile.  Nuclear Resister organizers were protesting the building of the illegal LRSO nuclear weapon under the TPNW.    https://www.kvoa.com/video/protestors-gather-at-raytheon-with-goal-of-prohibiting-nuclear-weapons/video_f670db46-082c-520d-aa8c-70e4b79f3aac.html

After signing the Statement, please share it with your networks, encourage sign ons, join in the Nuclear Ban Treaty Collaborative campaign, and watch the virtual Nuclear Ban Week Vienna, Saturday, June 18^th through Thursday, June 23^rd.  https://vienna.icanw.org/

The First Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty, hosted by the United Nations, will take place Tuesday, June 21^st through Thursday, June 23^rd.  https://meetings.unoda.org/meeting/tpnw-msp-1-2022/  and https://vienna.icanw.org/msp  [The full programme will be made public by the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) in the lead up to the event.  Accessed June 9, 2022.]

Prior to the three-day UN meeting, several civil society meetings will take place.  Go to the websites to register.  There are cut off registration dates for each event. 

• Saturday, June 18^th and Sunday, June 19^th, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and ICAN Austria co-host the Nuclear Ban Forum. https://vienna.icanw.org/forum   The full two-day program is available at https://vienna.icanw.org/program
• Monday, June 20^th, ICAN and the Austrian Parliament co-host a half-day Parliamentarian Conference on banning nuclear weapons. https://vienna.icanw.org/parliamentarian-conference
• Monday June 20^th, the 2022 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons, organized by the Austrian government. https://vienna.icanw.org/humanitarian-impact-conference
• Tuesday, June 21^st, a Youth Meeting of States Parties, for those between ages 18 and 30 from across five continents. https://vienna.icanw.org/youth-msp

1. Sunday, June 12, 2022 – 40^th Anniversary of the New York City March and Rally of One Million People for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. Free virtual commemoration event from 10 am to 2 pm MDT; noon to 4 pm ET.  Register at https://www.june12legacy.com/?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000   FREE!  Watch Robert Richter’s film In Our Hands about the 1982 March and Rally at https://vimeo.com/590296934?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000

2. Sunday, June 12^th – Defuse Nuclear War virtual 2 ½ hour event at 2 pm MDT; 4 pm ET. Live presentations from a wide range of speakers including Medea Benjamin, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, Khury Petersen-Smith, David Swanson and Katrina vanden Heuvel.  To register:  https://www.codepink.org/defuse_nuclear_war06122022   World premiere of a video featuring Daniel Ellsberg on “defusing the threat of nuclear war,” produced by Oscar-nominated director Judith Ehrlich.  https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jhUM5ClzQJGAQysfNUeO2A

3. Tuesday, June 14^th, NM Water Quality Control Commission to consider designating over 100 miles of the Upper Rio Grande, the Rio Hondo and its tributary Lake Fork, and the Jemez River Headwaters (San Antonio Creek, East Fork, Jemez River, and Rodondo Creek) as Outstanding Waters (also known as ONRWs) under the Clean Water Act. Public comments are needed during virtual meeting.    To join the meeting:  https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/06/2022-06-14-WQCC-Agenda-DRAFT-1.pdf     To take action:  Sign the Conservation Voters New Mexico petition for you to sign at:  https://secure.everyaction.com/MYLR-09-n0-21ODsisBpDg2?emci=5fe37d06-01e2-ec11-b656-281878b85110&emdi=7e7e2d50-7ce2-ec11-b656-281878b85110&ceid=796711

4. Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC – Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls – Promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as a critical part of the wider movement for peace and justice in this country and beyond.  https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/

5. Saturday, June 18^th through Thursday, June 23^rd is Nuclear Ban Week Vienna. For more information about all of the live and FREE virtual events taking place, visit:  this week’s CCNS News Update at http://nuclearactive.org/ and the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons at https://vienna.icanw.org/ Get your registrations in now as there are cut off dates!

Decisions being made by federal and state agencies about the plutonium-contaminated waste stored at the Waste Control Specialists facility located on the Texas-New Mexico border may foreshadow how non-compliant waste may be stranded in the future. Instead of coming up with a plan to expeditiously remove the waste, the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to design and build a radiologically controlled enclosure to process the waste before shipping it off-site to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).  Texas has had enough and wants the waste out of Texas, but cannot force the removal.

This story begins eight years ago.  On February 14, 2014, an explosion of one or more drums of plutonium-contaminated waste occurred in the deep geologic disposal facility at WIPP.  Nearly 8,000 feet of the underground mine was contaminated, along with 22 workers.  WIPP was shut down for nearly three years at a cost to taxpayers of $2 billion.  http://nuclearactive.org/plutonium-leaks-from-wipp-while-plans-to-expand-the-sites-capacity-proposed/

Those exploding drums had been packaged at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  A March 2014 agreement allowed the LANL waste to be temporarily stored at WCS for one year.  DOE later reported that some of the stored LANL waste came from the same waste stream as the exploding drums.

After several extensions of the agreement, DOE was charged with creating a plan to remove the LANL waste from Texas.  Eight years later 34 shipments have gone from WCS to WIPP, but some of the waste remains at WCS.  The most recent agreement expired on May 31, 2022.

On May 10, 2022, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality wrote to DOE stating that if the waste were not removed from the site and transported out of Texas, the Commission would take additional enforcement actions.

https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML22143A879

On May 19, 2022, WCS wrote to DOE stating:

As suggested in my August 21, 2019 letter to then Secretary Perry, the disparity between the federal government’s aggressive and timely efforts to treat similarly implicated waste that was in storage at LANL and the material at WCS is notable and remains ‘a significant concern for WCS and our regulator and is an impediment to restoration of normal commercial operations.’ WCS is concerned that the patience of TCEQ will be exhausted absent a greater commitment by DOE to establish date certain milestones as repeatedly requested by the agency, and as most recently committed to by DOE in a March 31, 2020 letter.

https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML22143A879

In the meantime, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a 30-month extension for storage of 74 standard waste boxes of LANL waste still at the WCS site.  NRC prepared an environmental assessment and a finding of no significant impact, or a FONSI, which support continued storage until December 31, 2024.

NRC acknowledged that the potentially explosive waste could not be moved because it no longer meets the Department of Transportation regulations.  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/27/2022-11430/waste-control-specialists-llc

The waste may be stranded at Waste Control Specialists, located five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico.  The People rely on specialized government agencies that handle and regulate radioactive materials to take extra care to protect them.  In this case, the agencies may fail.

1. Tuesday, June 7^th – Election Day! Get out and Vote!

2. Sunday, June 12, 2022 – 40^th Anniversary of the New York City March and Rally of One Million People for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. Free virtual commemoration event from 10 am to 2 pm MDT; noon to 4 pm ET.  Register at https://www.june12legacy.com/?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000

Watch Robert Richter’s film In Our Hands about the 1982 March and Rally at https://vimeo.com/590296934?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000

3. Sunday, June 12^th – Defuse Nuclear War virtual 2 ½ hour event at 2 pm MDT; 4 pm ET. Live presentations from a wide range of speakers including Medea Benjamin, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, Khury Petersen-Smith, David Swanson and Katrina vanden Heuvel.  To register:  https://www.codepink.org/defuse_nuclear_war06122022

World premiere of a video featuring Daniel Ellsberg on “defusing the threat of nuclear war,” produced by Oscar-nominated director Judith Ehrlich.  https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jhUM5ClzQJGAQysfNUeO2A

4. Tuesday, June 14^th, NM Water Quality Control Commission to consider designating over 100 miles of the Upper Rio Grande, the Rio Hondo and its tributary Lake Fork, and the Jemez River Headwaters (San Antonio Creek, East Fork, Jemez River, and Rodondo Creek) as Outstanding Waters (also known as ONRWs) under the Clean Water Act. Public comments are needed.

Take action:  Conservation Voters New Mexico has a petition for you to sign at:  https://secure.everyaction.com/MYLR-09-n0-21ODsisBpDg2?emci=5fe37d06-01e2-ec11-b656-281878b85110&emdi=7e7e2d50-7ce2-ec11-b656-281878b85110&ceid=796711

5. Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC – Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls – Promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as a critical part of the wider movement for peace and justice in this country and beyond.  https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/

6. Saturday, June 18^th to Thursday, June 23^rd is Nuclear Ban Week Vienna. For more information about all of the events taking place, please visit:  https://vienna.icanw.org/registration

In November 2021, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin construction of a new radioactive liquid waste treatment facility for transuranic, or plutonium contaminated, liquid waste from the Plutonium Facility. LANL stated in its application, “Current plans are to monitor the [emission] stack only for particulate radioactive material; tritium and other gas- or vapor-phase nuclides do not make up a significant fraction of the potential dose from the [transuranic liquid waste] facility.”   LANL Pre-Construction App to EPA RLWTF TLW 11-17-21

EPA is required to approve the application before construction can begin.  On April 20^th, 2022, EPA approved the application, without changing LANL’s plan to omit tritium monitoring in the emission stack prior to release into the air.  EPA RLTWTF-TLW Approval 4-19-22

Tritium is radioactive hydrogen.  It travels easily in the air and water, readily binds itself to almost everything and creates tritiated, or radioactive, water.  Tritium is used in nuclear weapons to boost the efficiency and destructive yield.

LANL is under pressure to fabricate 30 plutonium pits, or the fissile triggers, for nuclear weapons by 2026 in the Plutonium Facility.  In the fabrication process, water is contaminated with radioactive materials, including plutonium and tritium.

The transuranic liquid waste facility is the second construction project to replace the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, which began operations in 1963.  The first constructed replacement project was a low-level radioactive liquid waste treatment facility.  The old and the two new liquid waste treatment facilities are located directly east of the Plutonium Facility.

On May 5^th, the New Mexico Environment Department approved for the first time a groundwater discharge permit for the old facility – a process that began in 1994.  It also granted permits to the two new replacement facilities, the Outfall 051, a mechanical evaporator and two large solar evaporators.  https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/ , scroll down to Los Alamos County and DP-1132.

After treatment, tritium will be released into the environment from the outfall and the evaporators.  It is unclear whether EPA added the potential doses from the outfall and the evaporators to the dose from the emission stack in its analysis before approval.

In 2013, the Department of Energy Inspector General estimated that the replacement facilities could cost taxpayers about $214 million.  OAS-L-13-15 Audit Report:  The Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility Replacement Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, September 26, 2013. https://www.energy.gov/ig/downloads/audit-report-oas-l-13-15

 But President Biden’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget reveals that the estimated taxpayer money needed for the construction of the transuranic liquid waste facility alone is over $215 million.  Operations are expected to begin in late August 2027 and end in 2077 – a planned operation period of 50 years.  [Budget line item no. 07-D-220-04, p. 235 – 241 of pdf.]   https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/doe-fy2023-budget-volume-1-nnsa-wa-v2.pdf

1. Thursday, May 19 – Sunday, May 29, 2022: virtual and live in Rio International Uranium Film Festival.  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

2. Tuesday, May 31 at 6 pm MDT for one hour – Pax Christi: New Study Circle on Archbishop Wester’s Pastoral Letter on Nuclear Disarmament.  Registration at:  https://paxchristiusa.org/2022/04/26/register-for-the-new-study-circle-on-archbishop-westers-pastoral-letter-on-nuclear-disarmament/

3. Tuesday, June 7^th – Election Day! Get out and Vote!

4. Sunday, June 12, 2022 – 40^th Anniversary of the New York City March and Rally of One Million People for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. Free virtual commemoration event from 10 am to 2 pm MDT; noon to 4 pm ET.  Register at https://www.june12legacy.com/?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000   Watch Robert Richter’s film In Our Hands about the 1982 March and Rally at https://vimeo.com/590296934?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000

5. Sunday, June 12^th “Defuse Nuclear War” virtual 2 ½ hour event at 2 pm MDT; noon ET. Live presentations from a wide range of speakers including Medea Benjamin, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, Khury Petersen-Smith, David Swanson and Katrina vanden Heuvel.  World premiere of a video featuring Daniel Ellsberg on “defusing the threat of nuclear war,” produced by Oscar-nominated director Judith Ehrlich. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jhUM5ClzQJGAQysfNUeO2A

6. Tuesday, June 14^th, NM Water Quality Control Commission to consider designating over 100 miles of the Upper Rio Grande, the Rio Hondo and its tributary Lake Fork, and the Jemez River Headwaters (San Antonio Creek, East Fork, Jemez River, and Rodondo Creek) as Outstanding Waters (also known as ONRWs) under the Clean Water Act. Public comments are needed.  For more information:  WQCC 21-62 (R) – The Outdoor Recreation Division of the NM Economic Development Department Petition to Designate Segments of the Rio Grande … as Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW).   https://www.nmoutside.com/our-work

7. Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC – Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls.  https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/

Plutonium operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Technical Area 55 are centered in the middle of the 36-square mile national nuclear weapons facility.  LANL is the only U.S. facility with the capabilities to fabricate plutonium triggers, or the fissile pits, for nuclear weapons.  However, Technical Area 55, or TA-55, is located within the complex Pajarito Fault Zone between two young, north – south running faults called the Guaje Mountain and Rendija Canyon faults. Visual evidence of faulting can be found in the canyons to the north of TA-55.  http://nuclearactive.org/gilkeson/ see Seismic Documents.

The U.S. Department of Energy owns LANL.  It has plans for expansion of all things plutonium-pit production at the Plutonium Facility and at least five new support buildings at TA-55.  CCNS anticipates that DOE will continue its efforts to conceal and ignore the reality of the growing seismic threats of the young faults.

We witnessed similar efforts in the mid-2000s when DOE began to design a new super Walmart-sized Nuclear Facility within TA-55 next door to the Plutonium Facility.  DOE was so bold as to dig into the volcanic tuff with heavy equipment to prepare a pad for future construction.  http://www.nuclearactive.org/news/030510.html  In the end, public opposition and escalating costs forced the cancellation of its plans.  http://nuclearactive.org/livestreamed-nuclear-safety-board-hearing-on-february-21st-in-albuquerque/

Fabricating plutonium pits for nuclear weapons involves many steps – some using aqueous processes that result in water contaminated with radiation and hazardous materials.  That water is treated across the street from the Plutonium Facility at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility and for decades was discharged through an industrial outfall into Effluent Canyon.  Since November 2011, though, the treated water has been evaporated into the air at a mechanical evaporator.  

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency renewed the five-year industrial permit for LANL to discharge through Outfall 051 into Effluent Canyon.  https://www.epa.gov/nm/los-alamos-national-laboratory-lanl-industrial-wastewater-permit-final-npdes-permit-no-nm0028355

We note that on May 11^th, CCNS, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and the Albuquerque Veterans for Peace, Chapter No. 63, appealed the EPA decision to permit the outfall and five others to the Environmental Appeals Board.  https://yosemite.epa.gov/oa/EAB_Web_Docket.nsf/f22b4b245fab46c6852570e6004df1bd/ba987f24df0c356085258837004f3dcd!OpenDocument

Then on May 5^th, the New Mexico Environment Department approved for the first time a ground water discharge permit for not only for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, the outfall and Mechanical Evaporator, but for two large solar evaporative tanks, and a new low-level radioactive liquid waste treatment facility.  In addition, DOE plans to build a liquid waste treatment facility for the transuranic plutonium liquid waste.  https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/, go to Los Alamos County, and scroll down to DP-1132 where the draft permit is posted, but not the final permit.

These facilities are all in support of DOE’s plans for expanded plutonium pit production at LANL.

1. Tuesdays on May 24 and 31 at 6 pm MDT for one hour – Pax Christi: New Study Circle on Archbishop Wester’s Pastoral Letter on Nuclear Disarmament.  Registration at:  https://paxchristiusa.org/2022/04/26/register-for-the-new-study-circle-on-archbishop-westers-pastoral-letter-on-nuclear-disarmament/

2. Thursday, May 19 – Sunday, May 29, 2022: virtual and live in Rio International Uranium Film Festival.  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

3. Tuesday, June 7^th – Election Day! Get out and Vote!

4. Sunday, June 12, 2022 – 40^th Anniversary of the New York City March and Rally of One Million People for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. Free virtual commemoration event from 10 am to 2 pm MDT; noon to 4 pm ET.  Register at https://www.june12legacy.com/?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000   Watch Robert Richter’s film In Our Hands about the 1982 March and Rally at https://vimeo.com/590296934?emci=f80a145c-9ed3-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&emdi=7aa2d758-73d7-ec11-b656-281878b8c32f&ceid=299000

5. Sunday, June 12^th “Defuse Nuclear War” virtual 2 ½ hour event at 2 pm MDT; noon ET. Live presentations from a wide range of speakers including Medea Benjamin, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, Khury Petersen-Smith, David Swanson and Katrina vanden Heuvel. World premiere of a video featuring Daniel Ellsberg on “defusing the threat of nuclear war,” produced by Oscar-nominated director Judith Ehrlich.  https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jhUM5ClzQJGAQysfNUeO2A

6. Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC – Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls.  https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/