The Department of Energy and its legacy cleanup contractor for the Los Alamos National Laboratory will discuss 2021 plans for improved stormwater runoff around the lab during a public meeting Wednesday evening.
It is the second of two required semiannual meetings by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management at the federal complex and remediation contractor, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B).
The New Mexico Environment Department permit under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System is managed by N3B as part of its cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The online meeting is scheduled from 5:30-7:15 p.m. Mountain Time.
The original and current permit was issued in November 2010. The Department of Energy and N3B filed a permit application renewal in July 2019, according to an overview from the Huntington Ingalls Industries-led cleanup contractor. The contractor received certification of a draft permit from the regulators on Nov. 30.
The contractor seeks to capture enough storm water from the site to prevent runoff based upon the volume expected from a three-year, 24-hour statistical storm, according to an N3B presentation to be discussed at the meeting.
A group called Communities for Clean Water said in the meeting material that its goal is to ensure community waters affected by the laboratory “are kept safe for drinking, agriculture, sacred ceremonies and a sustainable future.”
Early this year, Los Alamos County, asked a federal review board to reverse a December 2019 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency saying the county’s stormwater discharges contribute to pollution of the Rio Grande River.
Article modified Dec. 15 to correct the name of the lead partner in N3B.
