The 2005 LANL Cleanup Consent Order was all about the enforceable schedules. It required DOE and LANL to investigate, characterize, and clean up hazardous and mixed radioactive contaminants from 70 years of nuclear weapons research and production. It stipulated a detailed compliance schedule that the Lab was required to meet…
Under Gov. Martinez, NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn granted more than 150 compliance milestone extensions at the Lab’s request, effectively eviscerating it.
A revised Consent Order was agreed in 2016 but was a big step backward in achieving comprehensive, genuine cleanup at the Lab. The revised CO was a giveaway by NMED to DOE and the Lab negotiated to allow DOE’s budget to drive cleanup, not what is needed to permanently protect our water.