The state of New Mexico went to federal court filing a civil complaint against the U.S. Department of Energy for failing to clean up contamination at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The complaint alleges the DOE didn’t comply with a 2016 Compliance Order and was filed after the state’s Environment Department found the Los Alamos Field Office’s 2021 plan was inadequate.
The Los Alamos labs are the site of nuclear weapons design and testing as well as high explosives research and development. They were also responsible for the WWII development of the world’s first atomic bombs that were used against Japan.
“The Department entered the 2016 Consent Order with high expectations, but almost five years later, our expectations are far from met,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney.
The court filing seeks not only a $333,000 civil penalty but to force the National Laboratories to “full address the issues in the dispute resolution statement.”
The state had attempted last fall to resolve the issues through the mandated dispute resolution process but could not reach an agreement on what it considered to be an adequate plan.
The State Environment Department, in its announcement of the filing said it will “vigorously pursue this matter to ensure timely clean-up of legacy contamination that New Mexicans deserve through a comprehensive, expeditious and enforceable clean-up plan at LANL.”
The final complaint is available here.
