Two Actions to Take – Protest the New Mexico Nuclear Alliance Conference and Tell DOE NNSA to Reopen Public Input on LANL Expansion

First, New Mexico is being targeted for new uranium and nuclear projects backed by billionaires, big tech, nuclear lobbyists and government entities. In 2025, the New Mexico Nuclear Alliance was established to push a pro-nuclear energy agenda. https://www.nmnuclearalliance.org/ Working in tandem, the Clean Energy Association of New Mexico, or Clean NM, an industry organization, also formed to push its pro-uranium agenda. CleanNM fronts as “good stewards of the environment,” respecting “community engagement” and “cultural traditions” while its member company, Grants Energy, proposes in-situ leach uranium mining on Sacred Mount Taylor, claiming those activities “safe” and “eco-friendly.” https://cleannm.org/

Beginning on Monday, April 20th through Wednesday, April 22nd, Clean NM will host a three-day industry conference at the Tamaya Resort on Indigenous lands. Peaceful protests are scheduled for Monday, April 20th from 8 am to 10 am and on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd from noon to 2 pm. Both events will take place in  Bernalillo at the northeast corner of Highway 550 and Tamaya Boulevard.

Bring banners and signs. Learn about how to protect yourself and your community from the harms of the nuclear industry and its actors.  For more information, contact Alheli Caton-Garcia, Environmental Justice Organizer, Southwest Organizing Project, at alheli@swop.net; https://swuraniumimpacts.org/event/rally-to-protect-new-mexicos-resources/ , https://tewawomenunited.org/ , https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/ , and https://www.dinenonukes.org/radiation-monitoring-project/

Secondly, on or before Friday, April 24th, tell the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to reopen public input on the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory, or the Final LANL SWEIS, and the concurrent Record of Decision.  https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-doe-nnsa-to-reopen-public-input-on-lanl-expansion

On March 25th, 2026, the federal agencies released their sweeping, long-term plan that will shape nuclear weapons production, waste management, environmental contamination, sacred site protection, and public health impacts in Northern New Mexico for years, if not decades, to come.

Despite the scale and significance of these decisions, DOE NNSA has not provided an opportunity for the public and affected communities to review and respond to the Final LANL SWEIS analysis before moving toward a decision. This undermines the core purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires informed, transparent decision-making grounded in meaningful public participation.

Further, key issues – including the integration of connected actions, such as the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade (EPCU) Project, meaningful Tribal consultation, and the full scope of impacts from expanded plutonium pit production – remain inadequately analyzed or deferred.

For these reasons and more, please take action at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-doe-nnsa-to-reopen-public-input-on-lanl-expansion

1. Friday, April 17^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval in Santa Fe for the weekly peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.

2. Thursday, April 23^rd at noon to 2 pm MDT – What I Want You to Know: Film Screening and Discussion on Morality of War – A documentary film about the post-9/11 wars that features Iraq and Afghanistan veterans sharing personal stories from their deployments and exploring the tragedy of their wars – including moral injury, which results from the violation of one’s sense of what’s right. After the screening, a Q&A will feature the film’s producer/director and a veteran from the film. Hosted by Religions for Peace USA at https://rfpusa.org/

Join Live via Zoom or Facebook. Zoom registration is required but complimentary. You can click here to register.

3. Friday, April 24^th at 1 pm MDT on zoom – 2026 Scholar Series about What is ALARA? How does it help protect public health and the environment? With Dr. Arjun Makhijani, the President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Takoma Park, Maryland. Zoom, register here

Dr. Makhijani will describe the provisions of DOE Order 458.1, which establishes radiation protections for the public and the environment by keeping exposures “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” (ALARA), below the limits. He will illustrate the requirements in detail with an example from Los Alamos (where, in his analysis, the DOE Order 458.1 was not followed). He will also discuss how ALARA serves to protect public health and the environment.

4. Saturday, April 25^th at 1 pm MDT at the Cruz Gallery, 500 Paseo de Oñate, Española, NM – Luis Peña and Kay Matthews are hosting a reading/discussion of Kay’s new book Antonio “Ike” DeVargas – Norteño Warrior: The Politics of Land, Power, and Justice in Northern New Mexico.

 To read Lucy Lippard’s thoughts about the book, see https://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2026/04/12/events-for-the-book-release-of-antonio-ike-devargas-norteno-warrior/

Additional Readings/Discussions:

Saturday, May 9^th at 4 pm at SOMOS, 108 Civic Plaza Drive, Taos

Wednesday, May 20^th, time to be determined, Collected Works, 202 Galisteo, Santa Fe.

5. Tuesday, April 28^th from noon to 1:30 pm – WIPP Community Forum, U.S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad Field Office and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO). To register, https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20260324.asp

Tags: Clean Energy Association of New Mexico, Clean NM, Department of Energy, DOE, Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade, EPCU, expanded plutonium pit production, Final LANL SWEIS, Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory, full scope of impacts, Grants Energy, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, New Mexico Nuclear Alliance, NNSA, Nuclear In New Mexico, peaceful protest, Record of Decision, Tribal consultation