Nuclear Watch New Mexico June 6, 2023 | Email
NEPA Document Manager
U.S. DOE Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office
1200 Trinity Drive, Suite 400
Los Alamos, NM 87544
By email to: [email protected]
Dear Document Managers,
Nuclear Watch New Mexico (NWNM) respectfully submits these comments on the needed scope of the Environmental Assessment for Chromium Plume Interim Measure and Final Remedy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (hereinafter “Cr EA”). We would appreciate their serious consideration by the Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) and look forward to a comprehensive response.
Our mission statement: Through comprehensive research, public education and effective citizen action, Nuclear Watch New Mexico seeks to promote safety and environmental protection at regional nuclear facilities; mission diversification away from nuclear weapons programs; greater accountability and cleanup in the nation-wide nuclear weapons complex; and consistent U.S. leadership toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
We work on contemporaneous budget, environmental and policy issues concerning nuclear weapons facilities. We have publicly and vocally pressed the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to diversify its missions away from nuclear weapons programs and move more toward critically needed programs, such as nonproliferation efforts, other new national security priorities (for example, port security), and pure science and energy efficiency programs. Through detailed budget analyses, we hope to demonstrate that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) can move towards comprehensive cleanup of the LANL site and still contribute to the economy of New Mexico.
The U.S. is flirting with the initiation of another nuclear arms race, the first since the end of the Cold War. The Department of Energy’s plan is to rebuild the nuclear weapons complex for continuing nuclear warhead production throughout the 21st century, including new designs. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires a hard look at all reasonable alternatives to preferred federal proposals.