UPDATE:  WELC recently amended its complaint in federal court on behalf of nine New Mexico community organizations and two individuals.  Please scroll down to view documents.  

Now more than ever, the environmental consequence of conducting nuclear, high explosive, and industrial testing activities at northern New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are beginning to rear their ugly head.  For the first time since 1943 (when LANL was founded) contaminants from the Lab (i.e., metals, explosives, PCBs, and even radionuclides) are showing up at various seeps and springs along the Rio Grande.  Recent data reveals that various facilities at LANL, as well as over 1,400 hazardous waste dumping sites, are releasing contaminants into the area’s shallow groundwater and surface waters, eventually traveling down gradient to the Rio Grande.  WELC is representing a broad coalition of local community, river conservation, nuclear watchdog, and farming organizations – now know as “Communities for Clean Water: Holding LANL Accountable,” formerly LANL Water Watch – to evaluate the level of contamination and ensure LANL is in full compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.

Attorneys: Megan Anderson, Matt Bishop, Erik Schlenker-Goodrich

Click on the document name to view:

Press release.

Amended Complaint.