Santa Fe, New Mexico — Citing significant violations of the Clean Water Act at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), an alliance of nine New Mexico community organizations and two individuals today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy and the Los Alamos National Security, LLC. (a copy is available at www.amigosbravos.org/lanl.php) This morning at the state capitol building in Santa Fe, the community groups said it was time for LANL to address the substantial contamination problems that are migrating off the lab’s property.

“We have joined forces to hold LANL accountable for more than 60 years of contamination that now threatens our future drinking water supply,” said Brian Shields of Amigos Bravos, one of the community groups. “Every time it rains or snows, these contaminants move through our canyons and springs to the Río Grande. LANL needs to take immediate and effective action to protect our community’s waters.”

Megan Anderson of the Western Environmental Law Center and legal counsel for the alliance of groups and individuals, said that the lawsuit was based on several violations of the Clean Water Act: failure to comply with water quality standards; failure to conduct adequate monitoring; failure to comply with reporting requirements; and failure to have effective pollution control measures in place.

“The result of these failures is that toxic contaminants are migrating to the Río Grande and to drinking water sources for Santa Fe and Albuquerque,” said Joni Arends of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. “In May, the New Mexico Environment Department reported finding plutonium in the area of the proposed Buckman Direct Diversion Project, a future drinking water source for the city.”

The groups say that countless studies by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and LANL itself show that New Mexico’s future water supply is being threatened by a number of pollutants, including PCBs at up to 25,000 times the New Mexico Water Quality Standard protective of human health.

“We joined this lawsuit because we are concerned about contamination from LANL impacting downstream and downwind irrigators and farmers” said Harold Trujillo of the New Mexico Acequia Association. “The Río Grande continues to be used for fishing and farming all along its length, enabling dangerous contaminants to get directly into the food chain.”

“It is urgent for rural Northern New Mexico communities downwind of LANL to acknowledge air as a pathway for water contamination and hold LANL accountable for toxic and radioactive pollution that blows on a daily basis into our watershed. We have joined with our downstream communities in this lawsuit because, we can be sure, whatever LANL is sending downwind through the air is going to end up in our watershed, our land and our water,” said Sheri Kotowski from Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group.

"There is no justice if LANL is not held accountable for more than 60 years of knowingly contaminating ancestral water,” added Kathy Sanchez, Director of Tewa Woman United. “All of us are connected by water. There are more than 1,400 documented contaminated sites in sacred ancestral homelands of water-related life presence. That is why we, as tribal women concerned for all relations, and our children’s future, have joined forces to hold LANL accountable for violations against water’s natural order- life affirming water. Purity of water must be returned.”

Clean water is a spiritual and ethical concern,” said Joan Brown of Partnership for Earth Spirituality. “Water is the Creator’s gift for the Common Good. Our action today is a moral and ethical stance to invite Los Alamos National Laboratory and all involved to accountability.”

“El aqua es la vida! We want zero contaminants discharged from LANL, and we want them to implement Best Management Practices for discharges and dumping,” said James Maestas of the Don Gabino Andrade Community Acequia Association.

Robby Rodriguez, Executive Director of SWOP, said that the groups expect the lawsuit would result in LANL honoring its commitments. “LANL has a budget over $2 billion,” Rodriguez said. “It is inexcusable that they are failing to clean up their toxic mess, which affects nearby Pueblos and small towns and cities along the Río Grande. We want Federal and State regulators to hold LANL accountable. LANL needs to take immediate and effective action to protect our waters.”

Anderson stated that groups filing the lawsuit hoped that total fines from prior and on-going violations would be vigorously pursued, paid in full, and allocated to complete and effective independent monitoring and remediation of the sites in question to prevent future contamination of our waters.

"There's a lot at stake here. We all have a responsibility to protect the Rio Grande from further degradation,” said Steve Harris, director of Rio Grande Restoration.

Organizations and individuals filing the lawsuit are Amigos Bravos, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Don Gabino Andrade Community Acequia Association, Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group, New Mexico Acequia Association, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, Río Grande Restoration, SouthWest Organizing Project, Gilbert Sanchez, Kathy Sanchez, and Tewa Women United.

A full copy of the complaint can be found at www.amigosbravos.org/lanl.php

Organizations and individuals that jointly filed the lawsuit include:

Amigos Bravos—Protecting and restoring New Mexico’s rivers since 1988.

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety—Protecting all living beings and the environment from the effects of radioactive and other hazardous materials now and in the future.

Don Gabino Andrade Community Acequia Association—An acequia in the South Valley of Albuquerque concerned with water quality issues and providing water to small farmers.

Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group—Focuses on the public and environmental health and safety issues related to air emissions generated by LANL activities that affect our watersheds.

New Mexico Acequia Association—Strengthening our communities by sustaining ancestral connections to land, water, and culture.

Partnership for Earth Spirituality—An interfaith group of people working for care of God's creation through reflection, education and action.

Rio Grande Restoration— "A policy advocacy group dedicated to protecting the flows of the Rio Grande."

SouthWest Organizing Project—Working to empower our communities to realize racial and gender equality and social and economic justice.

Gilbert Sanchez—Member of Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance (TEWA) and a community activist at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso.

Kathy Sanchez—Director of Tewa Women United and a community activist at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso caring for Mother Earth.

Tewa Women United—A civic group empowering women from the Northern New Mexico Pueblos.

Western Environmental Law Center—a non-profit, public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the land, sky, water, wildlife and culture of the West is representing the community groups and individuals.