Settlement over WIPP and LANL violations finalized via Albuquerque Journal

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Projects include:

• $34 million to improve roads in southeastern New Mexico.
• $12 million to improve roads around Los Alamos, especially those used to transport nuclear waste to WIPP.
• $20 million to repair water infrastructure in Los Alamos, including upgrading the public drinking water system and improving regional water quality.
• $3 million to pay for a safety and compliance audit of WIPP every third year.
• $4 million to construct an emergency operations center in Carlsbad, which DOE has already completed.

In a statement, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz called the projects “important investments in the health and safety of New Mexicans who work at or live nearby DOE facilities” and said they “will enhance our operations.”

The infrastructure projects are slated to be completed within two years, Flynn said.

“A large portion of this money is coming from the performance bonus that was withheld from (contractor) Los Alamos National Security last year,” Flynn said. The rest has come from other sources that are not included in operational or environmental clean up budgets at LANL or WIPP. We’re not just shifting money from one of our pots to the settlement.”

The settlement also reiterates numerous corrective actions that LANL and WIPP must complete to resolve permit violations.