‘This is not about feelings. When are we talking about feelings; this is about money. If you show me the numbers for legacy waste cleanup at Los Alamos moved to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. You show me numbers that you’re investing in New Mexico and I’ll show you some feelings, but until that time, you have the feelings that I have, which are that I’m really annoyed and I’m really bothered. I’m going to say to say it again. This isn’t about feelings – in some ways it is a lot about feelings in this room – but when it comes to legacy waste cleanup it’s not about feelings – it’s about moving the waste from Los Alamos and getting it into WIPP,” Kenney said.
MAIRE O’NEILL maire@losalamosreporter.com,| July 12, 2026 deseret.com
New Mexico Environment Department Sec. James Kinney was the guest speaker at Sunday’s annual Trinity Test Commemoration at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe, and was expected to outline the department’s efforts to hold the federal government accountable for cleanup efforts and the protection of New Mexico’s water resources.
Other speakers were Dr. Michael Ketterer, Professor Emeritus at Northern Arizona University; Jay Coghlan, Executive Director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico; and Tina Cordova, Co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. The event is organized by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Back from the Brink New Mexico Hub, Interfaith Power and Light New Mexico, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Soka Gakkai International-USA, and the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.
Later in the afternoon when it was Secretary Kenney’s turn to speak, he recognized that 81 years ago with the Trinity Test, New Mexico and the world changed in “a moment of non-consent, a moment that nobody knew was coming”. He said it changed the trajectory of communities like Los Alamos and all over the state of New Mexico, who are dealing with the fallout of what transpired.
While pointing NMED staff members in the audience who had chosen to attend the event, Kenney said he wanted to be really clear that the Environment Department staff fully recognizes that their past is their call to action. He called those employees the community’s last bastion to hold the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration accountable.