Case Work: Water

LANL Cleanup Consent Order Failure

LOCATION: Los Alamos National Lab
INITIATION DATE: January 2016
CLIENTS/PARTNERS: Nuclear Watch New Mexico
OPPOSING PARTIES: US Department of Energy
STATUS: Closed
ATTORNEYS: 

SUMMARY:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) missed multiple deadlines and accrued over $300 million in fines under its 2005 order to cleanup Cold War-era contamination. Still, the Martinez-era New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) refused to enforce it; instead NMED dumped the Order and adopted a new one that lacks real deadlines or cleanup goals. NMELC and our clients have taken LANL and the Department of Energy to federal district court, and are awaiting a decision.

 

LATEST NEWS:

01/20/2016 – NMELC served the Department of Energy with our 90 day Notice of Intent to file a federal lawsuit over LANL’s failure to clean up toxic contamination within the required deadlines under the Consent Order. Filed Notice of Intent.