“When the draft was announced last year, some LANL critics decried that even the ‘no action alternative’ would still mean expansion for the lab. Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, told The New Mexican the process felt ‘rigged.’”
“It’s a choice between expanded nuclear weapons programs, yet more expanded nuclear weapons programs or far more expanded nuclear weapons programs,”
| March 5, 2026 santafenewmexican.com
An analysis of the potential impacts of the next 15 years of Los Alamos National Laboratory operations is expected to be signed “any day now,” according to officials from the local National Nuclear Security Administration field office.
A draft of the sitewide environmental impact statement was released early last year and offers three futures for the laboratory. One would continue existing operations and finish already approved projects, another would modernize lab infrastructure and a third would see an expansion of lab facilities and operations.
The National Nuclear Security Administration is suggesting the third, although NNSA officials presenting at a Tuesday meeting of the Los Alamos County Council stressed it’s more of a choose-your-own adventure: While approving the expanded plan would allow for additional growth, not every project on the list will be completed based on need and funding availability.
A spokesperson for the Los Alamos Field Office confirmed Thursday the document had not yet been signed by NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams.
Growth at LANL
The lab has been experiencing a growth spurt in recent years. During Tuesday’s update to the Los Alamos County Council, Ted Wyka, manager of the NNSA’s Los Alamos office, said the lab would have a “solid and stable” budget of roughly $5.3 billion in federal appropriations — about 33% higher than the $4 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2022.
Wyka said the lab also expects to hire between 1,000 and 1,400 employees this year.
That doesn’t include the loss of roughly 900 workers every year, Wyka said, so the number of employees will only grow from between 100 and 500.
About three years ago, the lab hired a record number of workers. The growth has slowed since, with the number of employees plateauing over the past two years. Since fiscal year 2021, the number of employees, excluding contractors, has increased around 28%.
That comes after Sandia National Laboratories announced last year it planned to cut between 1% and 3% of its workforce with a voluntary reduction program.