Mission

Public Notice: Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, EPA ID No. NM0890010515

Activity: The State of New Mexico is authorized to operate a hazardous waste management program in lieu of the federal program for most provisions of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Federal Facilities Compliance Act (FCCA) is codified in RCRA §6001. Under the authority of the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 74-4-1 to -14 (1953, as amended through 2018), and the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (20.4.1 NMAC), the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) may issue a Federal Facility Compliance Order (FFCO) to federal facilities located within New Mexico’s borders.

On October 4, 1995, NMED issued an FFCO to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and Regents of the University of California (UC) (collectively, the Respondents). Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) replaced UC as a co-operator in 2006. In 2019, Los Alamos Newport Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC, (N3B) and Triad National Security LLC (Triad) replaced LANS as the co-operators. The FFCO requires compliance with the Site Treatment Plan (STP) Compliance Plan Volume (CPV) for the treatment and disposal of mixed waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The Respondents must comply with the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, Sections 74-4-1 to -14 and Section 3012(b) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. §6939(c), as amended by the FFCA of 1992, Public Law 102-386, 106 Stat. 1505 (1992).  In accordance with Section X, “Revisions” of the FFCO, all proposed or required revisions shall be made available to the public for review at appropriate locations. 

Revisions to the FFCO include but are not limited to, changes in the covered mixed waste inventories and compliance dates reported in the STP Fiscal Year (FY) Update reports received by NMED since the FFCO was issued on October 4, 1995.

NMED may: approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove; the proposed STP Update for fiscal year 2023, Revision 34.0.

Pending public input, NMED intends to approve the requested STP Update and Revision 34.0. 

Availability:
The proposed permit modification is available for public review on weekdays between 8:00 am and
5:00 pm at:
NMED - Hazardous Waste Bureau
2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Building 1
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505-6313
or at the LANL STP website: https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/lanl-ffco-stp/

For questions or comments please contact:
Siona Briley
NMED-Hazardous Waste Bureau,
2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Building 1, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505-6313
Telephone (505) 476-6000 or by e-mail at: siona.briley@env.nm.gov

The Permittee’s compliance history is available from the NMED contact person (Siona Briley) or at the web address listed above.

The public comment period for this intent to approve the STP Update and proposed Revision 34.0
will run from May 16, 2024, through June 15, 2024.

Any person who wishes to comment on this action should submit written or e-mail comments with the commenter's name and address to the NMED Public Comment Portal nmed.commentinput.com… or to the physical or email addresses listed above.

Only written comments received on or before June 15, 2024, will be considered.
Contact:  Siona Briley siona.briley@env.nm.gov )

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Ground Water Quality Bureau (GWQB) hereby provides notice that the following Groundwater Discharge Permits have been proposed for approval. NMED will allow 30 days after the date of publication of this notice (or as otherwise provided in the public notice linked here) for submittal of written comments and/or a request for a public hearing for a permitting action. You can add the comment period to your calendar through our Events Calendar located at https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/. You can now submit your comments online using the Public Comment Portal located at https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search. Requests for public hearing shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons why a hearing should be held. A hearing will be held if NMED determines that there is substantial public interest. After the administrative record for a permitting action is complete and all required information is available, NMED will approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the Permit based on the administrative record.

NMED maintains a Public Involvement Plan (PIP) for each permitting action to plan for providing public participation opportunities and information that may be needed for the community to participate in a permitting process. PIPs may be viewed on-line at https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/, at the NMED field office nearest to the proposed permitted activity, or by contacting the NMED Permit Contact identified in the public notice linked here. NMED also maintains facility-specific mailing lists for persons wishing to receive associated notices for a permitting action.

To learn more about a Discharge Permit and the permitting process, to be placed on a facility-specific mailing list, or to obtain a copy of a draft permit or PIP, please contact the NMED Permit Contact at the telephone number or address provided in the public notice linked here. Draft permits may be viewed on-line at https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/ under the tab for the facility’s county. Comments or a request for hearing regarding a draft permit should be addressed to the GWQB, PO Box 5469, Santa Fe, NM 87502-5469, or emailed to the NMED Permit Contact.

If you are a non-English speaker, do not speak English well, or if you have a disability, you may contact the NMED Permit Contact to request assistance, an interpreter, or an auxiliary aid in order to learn more about a Discharge Permit or the permitting process, or to participate in activities associated with the permitting process. To the extent possible, NMED will arrange for requested interpretation services and accommodations or services for persons with disabilities. Telephone conversation assistance is available through Relay New Mexico at no charge for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have difficulty speaking on the phone, by calling 1-800-659-1779; Spanish: 1-800-327-1857; TTY users: 1-800-659-8331. Telephone interpretation assistance for persons that are a non-English speaker or do not speak English well is available at no charge when calling NMED.

La Oficina de Calidad de Aguas Subterráneas (GWQB, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Medio Ambiente de Nuevo México (NMED, por sus siglas en inglés) notifica por este medio que se han propuesto los siguientes Permisos de Descarga de Agua Subterránea para su aprobación. NMED permitirá 30 días después de la fecha de publicación de este aviso (o según lo dispuesto en el aviso público vinculado aquí) para la presentación de comentarios por escrito y/o una solicitud de audiencia pública para una acción de permiso. Puede añadir el periodo de comentarios a su calendario a través de nuestro Calendario de Eventos situado en https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/. Ahora puede enviar sus comentarios en línea utilizando el Portal de comentarios públicos ubicado en https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search. Las solicitudes de audiencia pública deberán presentarse por escrito y expondrán los motivos por los cuales debe celebrarse una audiencia. Se llevará a cabo una audiencia si NMED determina que existe un interés público considerable. Después de que el registro administrativo para la acción de permiso esté completo y toda la información requerida esté disponible, NMED aprobará, aprobará con condiciones o denegará el Permiso basado en el registro administrativo.

NMED mantiene un Plan de Participación Pública (PIP, por sus siglas en inglés) para cada acción de permiso para planificar la facilitación de oportunidades de participación del público e información que pueda ser necesaria para que la comunidad participe en el proceso de permisos. Los PIP se pueden ver en línea en https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/, en la oficina local de NMED más cercana a la actividad de permiso propuesta, o comunicándose con el contacto de permisos de NMED identificado en el aviso público vinculado aquí. NMED también mantiene listas de correo específicas de las instalaciones para las personas que desean recibir avisos asociados para una acción de permiso.

Para obtener más información sobre un Permiso de Descarga y el proceso de permisos, para ser incluido en la lista de correo específica de una instalación, o para obtener una copia de un borrador de permiso o PIP, comuníquese con la persona que sirve como Contacto de Permisos de NMED en el número o la dirección facilitados en el aviso público vinculado aquí. Los borradores de permisos se pueden ver en línea en https://www.env.nm.gov/public-notices/ bajo la pestaña correspondiente al condado de la instalación. Los comentarios o las solicitudes de audiencia sobre un borrador de permiso deben dirigirse a GWQB, PO Box 5469, Santa Fe, NM 87502-5469, o enviarse por correo electrónico al contacto de permisos de NMED.

Si usted no habla inglés, no habla bien inglés, o si tiene una discapacidad, puede comunicarse con el contacto de permisos de NMED para solicitar asistencia, un intérprete o un dispositivo auxiliar con el fin de aprender más sobre un Permiso de Descarga o el proceso de permisos, o para participar en actividades asociadas con el proceso de permisos. En la medida de lo posible, el NMED organizará los servicios de interpretación y las adaptaciones o servicios para personas con discapacidades que hayan sido solicitados. Hay disponible asistencia para conversaciones telefónicas a través de Relay New Mexico de forma gratuita para las personas sordas, con problemas de audición o con dificultades para hablar por teléfono llamando al 1-800-659-1779; español: 1-800-327-1857; los usuarios de TTY: 1-800-659-8331. Asistencia telefónica de interpretación para personas que no hablan inglés o no hablan bien el inglés está disponible de forma gratuita llamando a NMED.

• How are people in your community impacted by water affordability challenges?
• What recommendations do you have for how EPA can support communities where households struggle with water bills?
• What do you think is important for EPA to understand about water affordability?

This online training will provide an overview of health impacts of lead, the recent revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule and the requirements of the initial lead service line inventory due October 16, 2024. Participants will also learn how to use the inventory template developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Check out our webpage to find useful information and templates at https://www.env.nm.gov/drinking_water/lcrr/.

The State of New Mexico’s Environment Department (NMED) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) will host a public meeting on June 5, 2024 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in accordance with Section VIII.C.3.d of the 2016 Compliance Order on Consent (CO). The meeting will be held at Cities of Gold Hotel (Tribal Room), 10 Cities of Gold Rd # A, Santa Fe, NM 87506 and will also be available via Microsoft Teams.

The CO is a settlement agreement between the NMED and DOE that was issued in 2016. The investigation and remediation of contamination from legacy waste at LANL is conducted under the CO. The CO both guides and governs the ongoing cleanup of legacy waste at LANL through a campaign‐based approach and the annual planning process. The annual planning process allows for revisions to cleanup campaigns based on actual work progress, changed conditions, and funding.

NMED will host the meeting and EM-LA will present information concerning cleanup work completed in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023 and the cleanup milestones and target dates for FFY 2024. The Appendix B of the CO, which includes the FFY 2024 milestones and targets, is available on the NMED website under the Compliance Order on Consent at: https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/lanl/