Kenney criticizes DOE legacy waste cleanup at Trinity commemoration
Kenney used the Trinity commemoration in Santa Fe to press DOE on LANL legacy waste cleanup, putting Los Alamos deadlines and enforcement back in focus.
New Mexico Environment Secretary James C. Kenney turned the Trinity Test commemoration in Santa Fe into a sharp critique of the Department of Energy’s cleanup work at Los Alamos National Laboratory, putting legacy waste oversight back in front of the people who live with its consequences.
The 4th annual Interfaith Vigil/Remembrance of the Trinity Test took place July 19 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s High School, 100 Siringo Rd. in Santa Fe, where Archbishop John C. Wester and Kenney were listed among the featured participants. The gathering brought together faith leaders, nuclear justice advocates and community members, and it again showed how the annual remembrance has become a public forum for both historical reflection and present-day cleanup politics.
For Los Alamos County residents, the dispute is not symbolic. New Mexico and the Department of Energy signed a new consent order for LANL legacy waste cleanup on Sept. 4, 2024, replacing the 2016 LANL Compliance Order on Consent that was modified in September 2024. That order sets the framework for what DOE must do, and it is the basis for state pressure on the laboratory’s cleanup pace and transparency.
The pressure escalated further in February 2026, when the New Mexico Environment Department said it filed an enforcement action at LANL and initiated a WIPP permit modification to hold DOE accountable for legacy waste. By that point, nearly $16 million in fines tied to legacy waste had also entered the picture, underscoring how far the conflict had moved beyond routine oversight.
The scale of the cleanup helps explain why the criticism in Santa Fe matters in Los Alamos. The Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and contractor N3B have described the legacy cleanup mission as a 10-year, $2.1 billion contract. Missed milestones, disputed responsibilities and slow progress affect how neighbors, county officials and state regulators judge whether federal commitments match the work that still remains on the ground.
The issue was already visible in June 2024, when the New Mexico Environment Department held a public meeting on the FY 2024 annual plan for cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory legacy waste. That meeting, the 2024 consent order and the 2026 enforcement action show a long-running dispute that has moved through planning, regulation and now direct enforcement.
Kenney’s remarks at the Trinity event tied that regulatory fight to the larger legacy of the atomic age. For Los Alamos County, the immediate question is whether the criticism in Santa Fe will translate into tighter deadlines, stronger state pressure and a cleanup process that can keep pace with the promises already on paper.
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