HOUSE MEMORIAL 73

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Jim R. Trujillo

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY, RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNDING REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY.

     WHEREAS, the United States department of energy's national laboratories are vital and valuable assets to the residents of New Mexico and the rest of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, after years of confrontation, litigation and lack of progress, Los Alamos national laboratory and the New Mexico department of environment recently signed an order on consent defining the conduct and schedule of the Los Alamos national laboratory environmental cleanup through the year 2015; and

     WHEREAS, all parties involved should strive toward complete transparency on a project of the magnitude and potential impact to human health and the environment as the Los Alamos national laboratory environmental cleanup; and

     WHEREAS, environmental issues and policy are often subverted, delayed and sidetracked by radical activists and special interest groups to the overall detriment of society; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico department of environment has limited technical and financial resources to provide adequate project oversight or effective and necessary public participation and outreach and no ability to perform independent, technical oversight of the facility; and

     WHEREAS, the northern New Mexico citizens advisory board provided comments to the Los Alamos national laboratory order on consent to the New Mexico department of environment on September 30, 2004 expressing, in part:

          (A) the need for adopting a comprehensive community relations plan to support public involvement and process accountability;

          (B) concern as to whether there are sufficient resources available to the New Mexico department of environment to ensure the timely and technically adequate review as required by the order; and

          (C) a strong recommendation to implement a commercially available geographic information system database on the web for review by the public; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico department of environment contracts with private sector consulting firms to provide necessary qualified expertise on challenging technical and politically controversial issues such as the mixed waste landfill closure at Sandia national laboratories; and

     WHEREAS, the waste management, education and research consortium, composed of the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, Dine college and New Mexico institute of mining and technology, has provided valuable, timely and insightful peer review for the New Mexico department of environment of contentious and politically charged environmental projects in the past; and

     WHEREAS, the Los Alamos national laboratory cleanup is budgeted at approximately eight hundred million dollars ($800,000,000) over the next ten years; and

     WHEREAS, it is irresponsible to conduct a cleanup of this magnitude in an inefficient and wasteful manner without adequate independent technical oversight to ensure effectiveness and accountability;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council request that the appropriate interim legislative committee study the feasibility, roles, responsibilities and funding requirements of an independent oversight panel to assist in the oversight of the Los Alamos national laboratory cleanup; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee consider the actions and effectiveness of other states and federal agencies engaging in similar facility-based resource conservation and recovery act cleanups; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include the use of decision-based data quality objective planning requirements, as well as comprehensive public involvement and outreach, in order to provide full understanding of the process by the public and full accountability; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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