A federal judge ruled this week that some nuclear weapons sites in the U.S. do violate environmental regulations.
On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the National Nuclear Security Administration violated environmental regulations by failing to adequately assess the environmental impact of its plan to expand plutonium pit production at facilities in South Carolina and New Mexico.
The case involves a lawsuit that targeted a 2018 plan to establish two plutonium pit production sites—one at South Carolina’s Savannah River and the other at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Plaintiffs argued the plan was based on an outdated environmental impact study, which failed to properly assess the implications of simultaneous production at both locations. They also insisted the plan weakened safety and accountability measures for the multibillion-dollar nuclear weapons program and its associated waste disposal.
In the ruling on Thursday, Judge Mary Geiger Lewis said, “Defendants neglected to properly consider the combined effects of their two-site strategy and have failed to convince the court they gave thought to how those effects would affect the environment.”
This undated photo shows the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. On Oct. 3, 2024, a federal judge ruled that some nuclear sites in the U.S. violated rules and environmental regulations.
The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File
The ruling comes just as U.S. officials this week gave the green light to the first newly produced plutonium pit from Los Alamos, marking a significant milestone in efforts to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The certified pit will be used as a critical component in updated nuclear warheads.
Plutonium pits, which are hollow and spherical, form the core of nuclear warheads. Along with highly enriched uranium, plutonium is one of the two essential materials used in the production of nuclear weapons.
The ruling from a federal court in South Carolina determined that nuclear weapons regulators breached the National Environmental Policy Act by not thoroughly evaluating alternatives to producing nuclear warhead components at the Savannah River and Los Alamos sites.
In a statement Jay Coghlan, the director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico and a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, said, “These agencies think they can proceed with their most expensive and complex project ever without required public analyses and credible cost estimates.”
The court has given both parties two weeks to submit a written proposal for a potential compromise. A spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration said the agency is currently reviewing the court’s decision and is in discussions with the Department of Justice.
In an email to The Associated Press, National Nuclear Security Administration spokesperson Milli Mike said, “We will confer with the plaintiffs, as ordered … At this point in the judicial process, work on the program continues.”
The ruling dismissed several other claims, including objections related to the evaluation of radioactive waste disposal from the pit production process.
Plans to shift pit production to South Carolina sparked a political fight in Washington, D.C., as New Mexico senators pushed to keep Los Alamos central to the multibillion-dollar program. The Department of Energy is now working to scale up operations at both Savannah River and Los Alamos, aiming to reach a production goal of 80 pits per year, despite delays and increasing cost projections.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
