'Communities at risk' from nuclear waste transport

A woman from Santa Fe County warned Quay County commissioners the U.S. Department of Energy’s changes in nuclear waste transportation put “communities at risk” along the Interstate 40 corridor and other highways in the state.

Citing U.S. government documents that include the Federal Register, Cindy Weehler said during a PowerPoint presentation Monday the disposal of nuclear-warhead waste at an underground facility in southeast New Mexico was going far beyond its original scope and was violating state and federal laws.

Weehler said the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant east of Carlsbad was supposed to stop taking only certain types of nuclear waste by 2024. She said government documents show DOE has “quietly changed” its mission for the facility. It now is taking surplus radioactive plutonium, has added to its volume and will stay in operation through at least 2080.

She said the processing and transportation of the nuclear waste from Amarillo to Los Alamos to South Carolina, then back to the WIPP facility, is more than a 3,000-mile circuit and involved old trucks and high turnover of drivers.

She said the powdered plutonium waste the trucks are hauling is extremely difficult to clean up if its container cracks open during an accident and is subject to being blown by the wind. Remediation would require scraping and hauling away the contaminated soil. If a building is involved in a spill, it would have to be abandoned. One micro-particle of the powdered plutonium is 100% certain to cause cancer if inhaled.

“Any accident is inevitable at some point,” Weehler said of the waste transportation. “It’s going to be catastrophic for a community.”

Weehler, noting residents and officials at other meetings were unaware of the nuclear-waste facility changes, recommended the county hold town halls about the issue.

Ed Hughs of Nara Visa also recommended the commission pass a resolution opposing the expansion of the WIPP facility’s acceptance of nuclear waste. Citing the nuclear borehole near Nara Visa proposed several years ago, Hughs said commission’s opposition proved critical to the DOE dropping the idea.

The commission did not vote on the issue, as it was not an action item.

In other action:

• On the urging of county manager Daniel Zamora, commissioners approved a donation agreement with a landowner just south of Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.

Zamora explained the nearly 60-year-old hospital with “issues that need to be addressed” soon will undergo a feasibility study on whether a new hospital should be built or remodeled, or a hybrid of the two. He said whatever option chosen will cost more than $20 million.

He said land donated by Country Club Development LLC would give the county more funding opportunities for building a new hospital or an addition if the land is used within a 10-year period. According to county documents, the land’s fair market value is $900,000.

Zamora said he would use former county manager Richard Primrose as a liaison for the hospital.

Zamora also said he would send a letter to the hospital’s operator, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, asking whether a public-private partnership with the county can be considered.

County Commission Chairman Franklin McCasland asked Zamora for copies of the hospital feasibility study as soon as they’re available.

• Commissioners approved an allocation agreement with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office on a proposed nationwide settlement with several opioid manufacturers.

Zamora said the settlement would give 45% of the settlement to the state and 55% to counties. He estimated Quay County’s share would be about $500,000, which could be used for first-responder training, treatment of addicts in the jail and outpatient treatment at a regional behavioral health center that may be built in the future.

• Commissioners approved a new joint powers agreement with the Tucumcari/Quay Regional Communications Center. The pact rejiggered contributions by villages, cities and other regional entities based on location-based emergency call volume. Zamora said the City of Tucumcari and Village of San Jon have approved the agreement.

• Commissioners voted to accept and approve the county’s audit for fiscal year 2021. A.J. Bowers of Carr, Riggs & Ingram accounting firm said by videoconference said the “nice, clean audit” had no findings. Bowers noted the county had decreased its long-term debt, saw a slight increase in its net position and declared its expenses and revenue as “reasonable.”

• Commissioners approved Sheriff Russell Shafer’s annual Law Enforcement Protection Fund application for 2022-2023. Shafer said his department would receive $45,000, plus $1,000 for each officer.

• Commissioners voted 2-1 on a resolution stating its opposition to New Mexico Bank & Trust’s planned closing of its Logan branch in June. (See other story in this edition.)

• Commissioners approved three resolutions from county finance director Cheryl Simpson. Two were for budget adjustments; one was for removing 24 county vehicles from its fixed asset list. Simpson said 22 vehicles were more than 10 years old. One vehicle was totaled in an accident, and another had electrical issues.

• Commissioners approved the purchase of a stock tanker truck for the Nara Visa Department for $323,930. They also approved Public Employees Retirement Association applications for Fire District 3, Fire District 2, Jordan, Nara Visa and Quay.

• Road superintendent Larry Moore said he would apply for funds from the state’s Transportation Project Fund to repair Quay Road 63 from Quay Road AR to the irrigation canal. He said he also is repairing 6.4 miles of Quay Road 96 near Nara Visa.

Moore said six possible contractors attended a prebid meeting about a new low-water bridge that will be built on Old Route 66 between Endee and San Jon. Bids will be let later this month.

• McCasland asked Charlie Zaida of the annual CRAFT Fair at the fairgrounds to submit a proposal to Zamora about fixing the fair’s pegboards used for booths. Zaida said the pegboards, which were built in the 1980s, had fallen into disrepair.

• Aric Costa, wildlife specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told commissioners he was doing more eradication work on feral hogs along the Canadian River near Logan and along the Harding and Union county lines. He also said he had outfitted a GPS collar on one feral hog so he could better track the herd’s movements.

• C. Renee Hayoz, administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said patient encounters fell from 422 in January to 285 in February. She attributed the drop to a holiday, staff taking personal days and bad weather. She also said the clinic would host a Women’s Day on May 10.