NMED says it will pursue enforcement litigation over LANL chromium plume if DOE won't sign settlement
An Oct. 30 letter to the governor of Pueblo de San Ildefonso says DOE has not responded to draft settlement documents sent Sept. 3.
LOS ALAMOS - The New Mexico Environment Department says it will turn to enforcement litigation over the hexavalent chromium plume from Los Alamos National Laboratory if the U.S. Department of Energy does not formalize a settlement, according to an Oct. 30 letter from Cabinet Secretary James C. Kenney to Gov. Christopher Moquino of Pueblo de San Ildefonso.
The letter says NMED, the Pueblo and DOE met in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26 and that NMED sent draft settlement documents on Sept. 3. NMED says it has received no feedback from DOE since, and that counsel for DOE Environmental Management at LANL recently indicated DOE will not comment on the drafts.
Kenney lists milestones NMED says DOE would already have had to meet under the agreement, including a final drilling work plan for a high-capacity injection well outside the plume by Sept. 30, flow meters on injection wells CrIN-1 and CrIN-2, and a first monthly monitoring report by Oct. 31.
The letter also answers the Pueblo's questions about an Oct. 9 draft memorandum of agreement with NMED. It says expense reporting under the agreement would move from monthly to quarterly and that its funds cannot be used for legal fees.