Responding to the potential $100 million in additional fines from New Mexico, the Department of Energy yesterday emphasized its commitment to addressing the issues raised by the state. New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn yesterday said he is working on a new compliance order that tops $100 million linked to recent violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which would come in addition to $54 million in penalties a December compliance order from NMED in relation to issues at LANL and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. When asked to comment, a DOE spokesperson said in a statement: “The safe cleanup of our sites, and the protection of workers, the public and the environment is a top priority for the Department. We are committed to addressing the underlying causes that led to the compliance orders and to developing a positive path forward for the re-opening of WIPP and resuming transuranic waste operations at LANL.”
DOE has so far fought back against NMED’s December compliance order, denying many of the violations. But Flynn said he is ready to issue a second order if DOE does not accept accountability for past violations and work with the state on a path forward. NMED and DOE officials are meeting this week to discuss the compliance orders. “I think that we are at a critical juncture in this process. We will know within the next few days how this is going to go,” Flynn told WC Monitor. “I am not optimistic at this point that any sort of settlement agreement will be reached given DOE’s conduct thus far. We are fully prepared to go litigate these issues as well as the additional compliance orders. We believe very strongly we will prevail. DOE, the defenses they asserted are ridiculous.”
