For immediate release July 21, 2020

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Warhead agency seeks to lease office and warehouse space within a 50-mile radius of LANL

Satellite facilities part of planned LANL warhead program expansion; thousands to be hired to make plutonium "pits," other warhead missions

Overall expansion plan secret, no environmental analysis planned

Contact: Greg Mello, 505-265-1200 (office) 505-577-8563 (cell)

Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM -- Via the email below from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today formally announced its interest in leasing property, possibly "multiple properties," for one or more satellite LANL facilities of indeterminate size.

This is far from the first time LANL or NNSA has publicly stated its interest but to our knowledge LANL has not up to now done so formally and in writing, except for NNSA's proposed participation in Santa Fe's Midtown Campus.

This request for expressions of interest is accompanied by a categorical exclusion (CX) determination under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

LANL's employment projections vary somewhat but are all ambitious. According to NNSA, LANL needs to hire 2,000 people this fiscal year. Two months earlier than NNSA's projection, LANL was proposing to hire 1,000 persons per year for the next five years, or approximately 500/year on a net basis.

On the fiscal side, NNSA is seeking a 49% increase in Los Alamos nuclear weapons activities for FY21 and a 33% plus-up for LANL overall. Both the House and Senate armed services committees have issued markups authorizing all these funds and floor action is occurring this week in both chambers. House appropriators recently approved a somewhat smaller increase; Senate appropriators have not completed their draft bill. If NNSA's budget is fully funded, LANL will be a $3.5+ billion (B) lab/production facility.

Study Group director Greg Mello: "The environmental, economic, and social impacts of this rapid expansion have never been analyzed. The new industrial plutonium warhead core ("pit") and other industrial plutonium missions are particularly impactful and troubling. Adding industrial plutonium missions at LANL is as unnecessary to national security and the deterrence mission, so-called, as it is dangerous and polluting.

"Today's announcement is just another reason why we need a new Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for LANL.

"The New Mexico Environment Department agrees with us that LANL's existing analysis of the proposed pit mission in inadequate. We have asked Secretary Kenney and Governor Lujan Grisham to request a new SWEIS, and we have given them a list of reasons why such an analysis is merited. We have asked all the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation. We have asked the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee of the legislature. We have asked the Santa Fe City Council. So far these and other requests have been met with silence. 

"As today's request for additional property underscores, LANL is full. Residentially and commercially, Los Alamos County is also nearly full, which is why the County has requested 3,000 acres of prime LANL land for mixed residential and commercial development.

"It is generally not cost-effective for long-term federal functions to use leased facilities. For NNSA and its contractors, leased facilities provide a way to sidestep most executive branch and congressional oversight.

"We know LANL has been working with private developers, and has been pitching the prospect of satellite LANL campuses in public and private meetings with elected and appointed local officials. NNSA's formal attempt to become the "Master Developer" of Santa Fe's Midtown Campus is just one of these efforts, and could yet result in a LANL presence near the center of Santa Fe.

"These are large, consequential decisions that will have considerable impacts on our towns, for good or ill. They are being conducted in secret, and without appropriate financial and environmental analysis. Transparency and compliance with NEPA are desperately needed. Local and state governments, and the tribes, need to wake up. The region's future is being decided. What LANL is offering will not be green, peaceful, or sustainable."

***ENDS***

NNSA Seeking Property for Office Space

DOE/NNSA proposes to lease property to provide workforce office and warehouse space within a 50-mile radius of LANL, which could include property located in Los Alamos County, Rio Arriba County, Sandoval County, and Santa Fe County. Multiple properties may be needed to meet LANL needs. The developed and existing leased properties would be designed to accommodate office or warehouse use. The proposed action does not include the construction of facilities or other structures to meet LANL needs or changes in local land use and zoning. Minor modifications may be required to meet security and operational needs. No major modifications to the leased properties will occur. All structures and infrastructure will be pre-existing and consistent with local land use requirements.

The leased properties will be used for office space and warehousing activities. Office space activities are those tasks that employees must complete in order for LANL to operate successfully; these include working at work stations, attending meetings, planning, and preparing documents. No hazardous chemicals, radiological materials, or other substances that would be considered potentially harmful to public health or the environment (excluding normal cleaning supplies and other common use chemicals) will be used for office space activities.

Warehousing activities for managing stored items include unloading, loading, assembling, and inventorying items. No hazardous chemicals or radiological materials, or other substances that would be considered potentially harmful to public health or the environment (excluding normal cleaning supplies and other common use chemicals) will be stored at these warehouse facilities. Items that would be warehoused include items that are needed for LANL operations, including, but not limited to, material used to support LANL infrastructure (such as plumbing supplies, fencing, structural steel, glass, HVAC units, etc.), research and operational equipment, and office material.

The document is at: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/cx-270530-leasing-property