Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appears to have targeted a building lease for the Carlsbad field office overseeing the country’s only underground nuclear waste disposal site, prompting immediate censure from members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.

The Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office is in the Skeen-Whitlock building, a 90,000- square foot facility that houses 200 workers who manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Project – better known as WIPP.

WIPP itself is not at the Skeen-Whitlock building. The underground waste depository lies in a saltbed about 26 miles east of Carlsbad and is the nation’s only storage site for defense-related nuclear waste. Most of the items disposed of are soiled with elements heavier than uranium – such as plutonium.

The building was listed as one of the more than 7,000 leases listed as terminated by DOGE, but there is no additional information. Members of the U.S. The Department of Energy national and Carlsbad Field Office did not respond Tuesday morning to a request for information.

The building’s potential closure poses risks to both the environment and national security, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said in a written statement.

“The abrupt closure of the Skeen-Whitlock building would further strain our ability to manage nuclear waste effectively,” Vasquez said. “It is imperative that DOE and GSA provide immediate clarity on this issue and work collaboratively to ensure that WIPP’s mission is not compromised.”

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) also issued a statement Tuesday, saying he will fight the closure of the facility.

“WIPP is critical to our national security. Now, Elon Musk and President Trump are jeopardizing WIPP’s operations and its ability to safely manage the disposal of nuclear waste”, Luján said. “The Carlsbad Field Office exists to ensure that WIPP can safely and effectively conduct its operations, and a potential closure could lead to delays in nuclear waste disposal and puts our environmental safety at risk.”

Luján’s statement further noted that closing the field office “would not only undermine the safety protocols at WIPP to protect the public and environment but also will put hundreds of federal jobs in one of the most rural areas of our state at risk.”

Members from Vasquez’s office sent an email Monday to the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s leases, writing that the closure was “deeply concerning.”

“The Carlsbad Field Office has already lost approximately 30% of its staff in the past month. This office is home to WIPP emergency response staff, who play a critical role in ensuring the safe management of defense-related nuclear waste,” legislative assistant Emily Hartshorn wrote. “Closing this facility would pose a serious risk to national security.”

The GSA acknowledged the email from Vasquez’s office early Tuesday, but did not provide any further information about the leases’ status.

A person answering the phones at Cowperwood Company, which owns the Skeen-Whitlock building, said that the company would not comment nor confirm if it had received a termination notice from the GSA, saying: “that’s just not something we’re willing to discuss at this time.”

Don Hancock, the Nuclear Waste Safety program director and administrator at the nonprofit Southwest Research and Information Center, said the potential closure raises questions about where workers would relocate to or if the termination would mean a larger step to closing the site.

“WIPP can’t operate without workers in Skeen-Whitlock and the WIPP site,” Hancock said. “That obviously has major implications for not only Carlsbad, New Mexico, but also for North Carolina, a major shipper of waste and Idaho, which has a legal agreement requiring WIPP to be open and receiving shipments.”

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.

Two of New Mexico’s most prominent election deniers used Monday – the fourth anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection – to urge incoming Donald Trump to keep his promise to pardon many charged and convicted in the riot, even as Congress certified his win.

What had been a relatively mundane process until Jan. 6, 2021, returned to form as senators and representatives counted the Electoral College votes that make Trump’s second term official.

But even so, former Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin – the first elected official barred from holding public office because of his actions with the violent mob – joined a panel of speakers blocks away from the Capitol to look back, peddling far-right conspiracy talking points in an effort to rewrite history.

“This day isn’t about me, this day is about those that are still being held in prison,” Griffin said in opening remarks. “We stand on the ground that we want a pardon for all, because it was a day of entrapment, and I believe that’s been proven.”

Nearly 1,600 people have been charged or face federal charges in connection with the attack, fueled by denial of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, resulting in dozens of injuries and at least five deaths.

Trump said in December he would act “very quickly” to pardon many defendants on his first day in office. He said he might make exceptions “if somebody was radical, crazy.”

‘No way’ pardon would allow Griffin to hold New Mexico office, lawyer says

But even a presidential pardon may not overturn a ban on Griffin, who was convicted of trespassing on Capitol grounds, of running for future office in New Mexico.

Couy Griffin first elected official barred from office for participating in Jan. 6 attack

The ban came as a result of a civil lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and local law firms on behalf of New Mexico residents. They argued that Griffin “participated in, encouraged, and promoted” the attack, which disqualified him from holding office under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits engaging in an insurrection.

The U.S. Supreme Court later refused to hear Griffin’s appeal.

Chris Dodd, an attorney who brought the civil case against Griffin, said a pardon would not reestablish his ability to hold public office in New Mexico, saying that the court’s judgement is final. An executive pardon has no power to change the outcome of a civil case, and since the case was brought under New Mexico state law, a federal pardon would have no authority.

“There’s just no way a pardon would have any impact on the civil case that we brought against Couy Griffin,” Dodd said.

Similar legal arguments last year convinced the Colorado Supreme Court that Trump himself was ineligible for public office, but the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Trump on the ballot.

U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Colorado 14th Amendment ruling, clearing Trump for ballot

Donald Sherman, the executive director and chief counsel for CREW, said Trump’s promise to pardon the rioters “is exactly why the Constitution bars oath-breaking insurrectionists from holding office.”

“The Supreme Court should have kept him off the Colorado presidential ballot as the Colorado Supreme Court did,” Sherman said.

Former New Mexico State University law professor, David Clements, also appeared with Griffin. He also called for pardons, even for violent offenders.

New Mexico delegation speaks up after certifying Trump’s 2024 win

After voting to certify the 2024 results, New Mexico’s all-Democrat congressional delegation described the day as a solemn duty rather than a celebration.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury told reporters that over the last several weeks, Trump and his allies have tried to “reframe January 6th.”

“Despite their best efforts, history will remember it for what it was: a direct attack on the Capitol in an effort to overthrow a free and fair election,” she said. “It’s important that the individuals who participated in those crimes are held accountable under the law.”

She said Trump’s messaging around his intent to pardon the insurrectionists is damaging to American democracy, institutions, and the rule of law.

Sen. Martin Heinrich said the anniversary of the attack was “a sobering reminder that we must not take democracy for granted.”

“Our democracy was pushed to the brink by rioters who violently forced their way into the U.S. Capitol to try and stop the certification of a free and fair election” he said. “It requires our constant participation, bravery, and a dogged commitment to principles over politics.”

Sen. Ben Ray Luján said he fulfilled his constitutional duty to certify the election results, but that it was also a “solemn day in our nation’s history.”

“Four years ago, a violent assault took place on the Capitol and our brave law enforcement officers in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power. But our democracy – and our resolve – did not break,” Luján said.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said Monday should have been a day of celebration but instead stood as a “stark contrast” to four years earlier.

“We must never forget the assault on our democratic institutions or the bravery of those who defended them,” Leger Fernández said. “Let this day serve as a solemn reminder of the fragility of our democracy and our unwavering commitment to protect it.”

A spokesperson for Rep. Gabe Vasquez did not respond to a request for comment.

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.

Water stayed at the forefront of news about conservation, health and money in New Mexico this year, and pressure is growing for increased support from the Roundhouse in the January legislative session.

As the world keeps heating up due to human burning and extraction of fossil fuels, New Mexico faces the dual anxiety of too much water at times, and too little at others.

While unprecedented levels of federal money was made available for water projects during the Biden administration – from drought projects to drinking water concerns — advocacy groups say costs for addressing long-neglected contamination issues across the nation are “grossly underestimated.”

Source New Mexico covered nearly 100 stories about water in 2024, ranging from U.S. Supreme Court cases to introducing the state’s new water czar to deadly flooding following wildfires and storms.

Here’s some stories you might have missed, and a look forward at what’s coming around the bend.

Rivers and streams

The relationship between chronic drought and deadly, devastating floods remains, as fires consumed forest and homes around Ruidoso, followed by walls of water and mud sloughing off the mountains during monsoon season.

Burn scars around the state faced flooding this summer, washing out homes and flooding houses, but also spaces like schooling.

Climate disaster continued into election season, closing polling sites, after flooding swept through Chaves County, killing two people and devastating areas around the river.

While winter weather early with heavy wet snow downing power lines and raising flood concerns in the aftermelt, New Mexico remains in drought, with loaded dice for a drier, warmer winter coming.

Wildlife advocates reached a deal with the federal government over the to end a lawsuit over the tiny, silvery minnow, but humans and continued habitat loss from a drying Rio Grande continue to imperil its survival.

The New Mexico attorney general escalated stream access lawsuits, asking judges to penalize landowners fencing off streams along the Pecos basin for not acting sooner. A judge still hasn’t ruled on that case.

The federal picture

Many of the effects on New Mexico’s waters stemmed from Washington.

The nation’s highest court struck a blow to Texas, New Mexico and Colorado’s proposed plan to end a decade-long, costly lawsuit over Rio Grande water. Instead, the court sided with the federal government and ordered the case to continue. The high court appointed a new special master, who heard from the parties and sent them back to the negotiating table. If no agreement is reached, the plan is to head back to trial.

That’s not all. New Mexico agency and water conservationists remained concerned from the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA. The decision removed pollution protections for many intermittent waters – and endangered an estimated 93% of New Mexico streams and wetlands. The decision drove further protections of 250 miles of streams.

Congress has yet to act on $3.7 billion in a historic bid to settle lawsuits and manage tribal water rights in New Mexico, despite calls from the New Mexico delegation for leadership to act.

New Mexico received a federal grant to examine how “forever chemicals” have affected drinking water systems across the state, even as it starts blood testing residents around areas with impacted groundwater.

Water is for drinking, too

It’s been nearly a year since state officials released findings that Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, which provides drinking water for more than 19,000 residents in Sunland Park and Santa Teresa, had been sending them water with “high levels of arsenic.” It also had multiple safety deficiencies. In a media release on Dec. 16, the utility said it has addressed nearly all of state inspectors’ concerns from last year, and has had three quarters without an arsenic violation according to state tests.

In November, attorneys filed a lawsuit against the utility company and the local government entities that run it, alleging their actions violated residents’ civil rights. Earlier this year the utility got both a new director and a new board, but only after a delay resulting in a blame game between officials after a failure to file documents with the state.

The troubles at the utility sparked state officials to take a closer look at drinking water systems across the state and may result in future fines for dozens of utilities that provided no answer or insufficient plans to address issues.

Money and water

One thread Source NM will follow in 2025 is how New Mexico spends its money when it comes to its most precious resource.

While oil and gas revenues have kept money flowing for the state government’s operations, water conservation nonprofits and the executive branch are asking state lawmakers to turn the tap on in 2025 for water investment.

The state has asked a judge to award money and compel the military to clean up “forever chemicals” which have contaminated water beneath bases in the state.

Las Vegas finally received its first installment of federal funding to fix its water systems after they were damaged during the 2022 wildfire season.

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: info@sourcenm.com.

Los Alamos, the Atomic City, is facing a legacy of its nickname.

High levels of plutonium present in samples taken in July from soil, plants and water in Los Alamos’ Acid Canyon may be the oldest contamination in the state, predating the 1945 Trinity Site atomic test, said Michael Ketterer, an analytical chemist and retired professor of chemistry from Northern Arizona University.

“There are some references to contamination being introduced into Acid Canyon starting in 1943,” he said Thursday. “It is very logical to me that this is some of the earliest produced material.”

The legacy plutonium contamination estimated to have lasted into the 1960s is still impacting the land, water and potentially human health, he said in a presentation hosted by Nuclear Watch NM.

“What I’ve found here in Acid Canyon, my friends, is I’d say pretty much the most extreme plutonium contamination scenario I’ve seen in an offsite, uncontrolled environmental setting,” Ketterer said, alluding to thousands of plutonium samples he’s analyzed in his 20-year career.

He said that contamination levels surpass samples he took at private properties around the former plutonium pit production site in Rocky Flats, Colorado.

One concern, which he said warrants immediate federal or state environment protection intervention, was the levels of plutonium contamination in water flows in Acid Canyon.

“To see plutonium in water anywhere, really, you have to work hard to even detect it in any water sample,” he said.

All four samples taken in July exceed the federal standard for gross alpha radiation, he said, and far exceed guidance levels in New Mexico, or Colorado.

Ketterer emphasized he was not a toxicology expert, but said he’s concerned about people ingesting or inhaling it, as it’s in a public open space, owned by the county. He said he’s not concerned that people are drinking it, but their pets might.

“I think making sure that people don’t drink it, don’t ingest it, and they don’t inhale it, is the starting point,” Ketterer said.

One Los Alamos County Councilor, Randall Ryti, attended the presentation. Los Alamos County spokesperson Leslie Bucklin said employees at the county were reviewing Ketterer’s findings.

“At this time, Los Alamos County has not received any notification from our regulators or [U.S. Department of Energy] indicating that Acid Canyon is unsafe. The County continues to support the importance and efforts of legacy waste clean-up in and around our community,” Bucklin wrote in a statement.

Ketterer’s samples followed findings from NuclearWatch NM published in April finding plutonium migrating from Los Alamos down the Rio Grande. NuclearWatch NM built the map with the Intellus database, which uses Los Alamos National Laboratory monitoring data.

Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch NM, said the findings come as the budget for weapons production has ballooned with Los Alamos National Laboratory projecting to spend an estimated $8 billion to restart new plutonium pit production.

He said the priority of spending billions on weapons while cleanup budgets for legacy waste has only been about $225 million per year.

“We need the environment around Los Alamos comprehensively cleaned up,” he said. “We don’t need more nuclear weapons for the nuclear arms race.”

Findings for the first ‘downstreamers’

Ketterer opened the presentation with an apology to New Mexicans, pointing to the disproportional impacts of the nuclear industry on the state and its communities.

“You’re the first downwinders, New Mexicans, you’re also among the first downstreamers,” he said, putting forward a term he said he coined for people impacted by nuclear contamination pushed down by water.

Photos presented with Michael Ketterer’s findings on legacy plutonium contamination in Los Alamos’ Acid Canyon. He said one of the concerns isn’t just human health, but that the whole ecosystem is contaminated for thousands of years in the future. (Courtesy of Michael Ketterer).

“It’s moving downstream, the water is pushing this plume of contamination continuously,” he said. “It’s been doing this for 80 years. It’s going to continue for centuries and millennia.”

The samples were taken from just around a walking trail behind the Los Alamos Aquatic Center, and from the Totavi gas station at the base of the canyon on NM Highway 502. The name Acid Canyon sprung from the nitric acid used to dissolve plutonium waste and was part of the waste dumped into the canyon from 1943 to 1964.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, after some soils were removed, the site was deemed “ sufficiently free of contamination” and released to Los Alamos County in 1967.

Ketterer disagreed.

“I don’t know how DOE Legacy Management can call this clean in any way,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately return an emailed request for comment Friday.

‘You need to think about where you are living’

During the more than 500 above ground nuclear tests performed around the world, the fallout of Plutonium-239 rained down from the atmosphere, building up as sediment in the earth’s layers, and exposing people to small amounts of plutonium.

Ketterer said his findings shows that the pollution is older, saying that it can’t be dismissed as “fallout” contamination.

He closed by warning about concerns of wildfire danger to the area, comparing it to the threat the 2021 Marshall Fire posed to Rocky Flats.

“It is shocking to see this fire danger right in the midst of a public area. If this vegetation burns, you’re going to get fly ash all over the proximity,” he said.

The U.S. Environmental Department Agency Region 6, which oversees New Mexico and surrounding states, declined to issue a statement or provide answers to emailed questions Friday.

State environment officials did not offer if the department is investigating Ketterer’s findings any further. New Mexico Environment Department spokesperson Drew Goreztka wrote in a statement that regulating nuclear material is a federal responsibility, and that only certain areas, like water quality, are delegated to the state.

Ketterer directed some of his comments directly to people living in Los Alamos.

“Those of you who live in Los Alamos, you really need to think about where you are living. You who are downwinders in every sense of the word, you are downstreamers,” he said.

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: info@sourcenm.com. Follow Source New Mexico on Facebook and X.