Public meeting set for annual planning of LANL legacy cleanup

State and federal cleanup officials will convene a public meeting on Jan. 14 to review the annual planning process under the 2016 Compliance Order on Consent, as modified in September 2024. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management office at Los Alamos (EM-LA) are listed as co-leads for the session, which is intended to shape priorities and oversight for legacy cleanup work in the Los Alamos region.

The meeting follows the addition of new materials to the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract Electronic Public Reading Room on Jan. 9. LANL News notes that all legacy cleanup documents required to be posted after April 30, 2018, are available in that public reading room, while legacy records posted prior to that date remain in the LANL electronic public reading room. The public meeting materials include a linked email invite and related documents in the LANL/EM-LA public files.

Annual planning under the Compliance Order is where regulatory direction, federal cleanup obligations and local oversight intersect. For residents, the process determines which actions are prioritized, how monitoring and remediation are scheduled, and how state and federal agencies coordinate work on legacy issues such as contaminated sites, waste disposition and environmental monitoring. Changes made to the Compliance Order in September 2024 mean the 2026 planning cycle will reflect revised responsibilities and timelines, making this meeting a practical point for local stakeholders to scrutinize near-term work plans.

Institutionally, the session is a test of transparency and public accountability. NMED acts as the state regulator enforcing environmental standards, while EM-LA manages Department of Energy cleanup operations at and around Los Alamos National Laboratory. Annual planning meetings are one of the primary venues where those authorities present proposed actions, answer technical questions and, in principle, absorb community input that can influence scheduling and resource allocation.

For Los Alamos County residents, civic engagement in this process matters. Reviewing the newly posted documents in the electronic public reading room before the meeting will make public comment more focused and effective. Attendance gives community members a direct line to ask about timelines, monitoring, and how modifications to the Compliance Order will affect ongoing work.

Our two cents? Take a look at the public reading room materials, bring specific questions to the Jan. 14 meeting, and press for clear timelines and measurable milestones so cleanup plans translate into accountability you can track.