New Mexico holds DOE’s feet to fire in removal of LANL waste

The fines were part of three enforcement actions the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued on February 11 related to the DOE’s current operations at LANL. In addition, NMED issued a formal initiation of an operating permit modification at WIPP that would require the DOE to prioritize the disposal of legacy waste at WIPP.

“The U.S. Department of Energy has failed to meet the Environment Department’s requirements to clean up legacy waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory and prioritize the disposal of such waste in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant,” said NMED Secretary James Kenney. “New Mexicans have stepped up to help solve the nation’s cleanup problem in a way that residents of no other state have. The U.S. Department of Energy must prioritize their health and welfare by expediting cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory and ensuring there’s space for New Mexico’s legacy waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.”

Background: The DOE’s Office of Environmental Management is conducting the cleanup of legacy contamination of radioactive and chemical waste at LANL resulting from past practices during the Manhattan Project and Cold War era.

According to NMED, between 2021 and 2025, the DOE disposed of five times more waste in WIPP from Idaho National Laboratory than from LANL. The state is also contesting the DOE’s deferral of the cleanup of LANL’s Material Disposal Area C (MDA-C), an 11.8-acre unlined landfill containing radioactive waste, heavy metals, and hazardous chemicals. New Mexico has recommended that the waste from MDA-C be exhumed and shipped to WIPP for disposal.

WIPP operates under a permit issued by NMED, which has the authority to regulate hazardous waste at the repository. In October 2023, NMED approved a 10-year renewal of WIPP’s hazardous waste permit.

The actions: NMED said it has issued the following actions to the DOE:

1. Enforcement action—Administrative compliance order related to hazardous waste violations that requires the DOE to submit documentation to NMED to support the department’s request to defer the cleanup of MDA-C. A copy of this enforcement action is available here.

2. Enforcement action—An administrative compliance order and civil penalty of $6,026,124 related to hazardous waste violations and the 2024 consent order regarding LANL’s management of the groundwater chromium plume that migrated off-site and onto land of the San Ildefonso Pueblo. NMED is requiring the DOE to submit a revised interim measures plan with an implementation schedule to for approval. A copy of this enforcement action is available here.

3. Enforcement action—An administrative compliance order and civil penalty of $9,784,503 related to groundwater standards violations for chromium at LANL. NMED is requiring the DOE to develop a corrective action plan for mitigation and cleanup within 60 days and submit a revised groundwater discharge permit application to the state. A copy of this enforcement action is available here.

4. Permit modification—NMED has initiated a department modification to WIPP’s operating permit to require explicit standards and metrics for the disposal of waste from LANL. On February 11, NMED sent a letter to the DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office and WIPP contractor Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, initiating the permit modification. NMED said it will publish a draft permit and seek public comment this spring. A copy of the letter is available here.