Environment

WIPP Emergency Operations Center Deactivated

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WIPP News:

CARLSBAD – The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been deactivated after successfully coordinating resources to improve driving conditions so that employees can possibly return to work at the WIPP site Thursday, Dec. 31.

The Level 1 EOC activation, which began at approximately 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29, was ordered to support the coordination of necessary resources needed to safely restore normal operations at WIPP due to the recent severe winter storm that dumped 15 inches of snow on the area.

Icy and snow packed road conditions made it difficult Read More

Governor Issues Executive Order To Help Ensure Supply Of Propane After Massive Snowstorm

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Gov. Susana Martinez
 
STATE News:
 
SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez has issued an executive order  to help keep up the supply of propane throughout the state as a result of the massive snowstorm that has impacted communities throughout New Mexico. 
 
The governor’s executive order suspends regulations on the number of hours that propane suppliers may drive in order to expedite its delivery into the state.

“We continue to coordinate storm response efforts through all state and local partners,” Martinez said. “This order will allow suppliers to move

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Craig Martin: What PEEC Means To Me

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Craig Martin

PEEC News:

My mentor told me I should always be connected to the place I live. PEEC understands that connecting who we are, where we are, and why we live in the place we do is so important to our basic happiness.

Our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies are why I live here. I think many people feel the same–they love and understand that special connection to our landscape.

Donating to make the nature center building happen was amazing for me. I continue to give, because I know PEEC has the potential to do even more. Please join me. Read More

Udall Provision Requiring Report On Burn Pits Will Help Advance Care For Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Sen. Tom Udall announced that he secured a provision in the “omnibus” appropriations bill signed by the president last week requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report on the status and findings of its burn pit registry.
 
The registry — which was created by Udall’s Burn Pits Registry Act — is the first step toward providing medical care and research for service members and veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
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I-40 Reopens In Stages Following Storm

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NMDOT News:
 
SANTA FE ― The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) announced that Interstate 40 is reopening in the eastbound direction to the Texas state line.
 
The opening is occuring in phases so that traffic can be controlled and cleared in an orderly manner. Crews from NMDOT worked throughout the night in order to have I40 reopened.
 
Santa Rosa and Tucumcari have already been reopened to travelers. Moriarty will open at 9 a.m., and Albuquerque will open at 9:30 a.m.
 
NMDOT urges drivers to use caution when traveling on the roadways.
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WIPP Emergency Operations Center Activated On Limited Basis

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WIPP News:

CARLSBAD – At approximately, 9 a.m. today, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) announced a Level 1 activation to support coordination of resources needed to safely restore normal operations at WIPP due to the recent severe snow storm in southeast New Mexico.

The icy and snow packed road conditions have made road conditions difficult for the workforce to commute to the WIPP site. Resources are being requested, both locally and from the state of New Mexico, to mobilize snow removal equipment to clear the north and south access roads and the Read More

NNSA’s Asset Management Program Completes Pilot

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NNSA News:

  • New initiative accelerates infrastructure repairs while increasing buying power

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced completion of a $520,000 pilot to replace a roof, as well as heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system for the Core Library and Data Center at Mercury, Nev. (https:////nevada.usgs.gov/mercury/). 

The library was established as a repository for geologic, hydrologic, and geophysical data and materials collected in support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defense and environment programs at the Read More

U.S. Demonstrates Production Of Fuel For Missions To The Solar System And Beyond

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DOE News:
 
The first U.S. production in nearly 30 years of a specialized fuel to power future deep space missions has been completed by researchers at the Department of Energy‘s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee.
 
The production of 50 grams of plutonium-238–roughly the mass of a golf ball–marks the first demonstration in the United States since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production in the late 1980s.
 
Radioisotope power systems convert heat from the natural radioactive decay of the isotope plutonium-238 into electricity.
 
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‘Christmas Eve Asteroid’ 2003 SD220 Sleighs By Earth

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Resembling a sweet potato, which is quite appropriate for the holiday season, a Delay-Doppler image of asteroid 2003 SD220,  the ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ as observed Dec. 3-5 and Dec. 14-15 from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico using the NASA-funded planetary radar system. The asteroid will be 28 times farther away than our moon, measures more than 1.25 miles long and rotates very slowly, taking more than 11 days to complete one full rotation. Courtesy/Arecibo Observatory

The largest and most sensitive single dish radio telescope in the world is at the Arecibo Observatory Read More