Mishaps at nuke repository lead to $54M in fines

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — New Mexico on Saturday levied more than $54 million in penalties against the U.S. Department of Energy for numerous violations that resulted in the indefinite closure of the only U.S. underground nuclear waste repository.

The state Environment Department delivered a pair of compliance orders to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, marking the state’s largest penalty ever imposed on the federal agency. Together, the orders outline more than 30 state-permit violations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico and at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The orders and the civil penalties that come with them are just the beginning of possible financial sanctions the Energy Department could face in New Mexico. The state says it’s continuing to investigate and more fines are possible.

The focus has been on a canister of waste from Los Alamos that ruptured in one of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s storage rooms in February. More than 20 workers were contaminated, and the facility was forced to close, putting in jeopardy efforts around the U.S. to clean up tons of Cold War-era waste.

The state accuses Los Alamos of mixing incompatible waste, treating hazardous waste without a permit and failing to notify regulators about changes in the way waste was being handled. The penalties for the lab total $36.6 million.

“New Mexico does not need to choose between fulfilling the laboratory’s mission and protecting the environment,” Ryan Flynn, state environment secretary, said in a letter to Los Alamos officials. “DOE now has an opportunity to learn from these mistakes and implement meaningful corrective actions that will ensure the long-term viability of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

He wrote a similar letter to officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, saying New Mexicans understand the nuclear repository’s importance but that it must be operated and maintained with “the highest standards of safety and complete transparency.” The nuclear dump’s penalties total $17.7 million.