Post by pavel on May 13, 2016 1:15:31 GMT -6
Los Alamos National Laboratory managers and the U.S. Department of Energy face a potential $487,000-a-day fine if a federal court agrees with allegations that they failed to meet the terms of a hazardous waste agreement with the state.
The nonprofit Nuclear Watch New Mexico filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court, accusing the federal government and lab managers of over a dozen violations of a 2005 consent order to clean up hazardous waste left after decades of nuclear weapons and chemical research. Under federal law, if the nonprofit wins the case, the lab and the federal agency could be on the hook for $37,500 a day for each violation of the order.
The lawsuit says the Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Security, a consortium of companies that manages the lab, failed to comply with the state order by Dec. 6, 2015, a deadline agreed to a decade ago.
A spokesman for the department declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Read more: www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/nuclear-watchdog-group-sues-feds-lanl-over-accord/article_903292c2-5a67-5468-9768-a167fdcf668b.html
The nonprofit Nuclear Watch New Mexico filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court, accusing the federal government and lab managers of over a dozen violations of a 2005 consent order to clean up hazardous waste left after decades of nuclear weapons and chemical research. Under federal law, if the nonprofit wins the case, the lab and the federal agency could be on the hook for $37,500 a day for each violation of the order.
The lawsuit says the Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Security, a consortium of companies that manages the lab, failed to comply with the state order by Dec. 6, 2015, a deadline agreed to a decade ago.
A spokesman for the department declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Read more: www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/nuclear-watchdog-group-sues-feds-lanl-over-accord/article_903292c2-5a67-5468-9768-a167fdcf668b.html