CCNS Update

Under the President’s Executive Order, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or

NRC, is at it again. This time, during a 30-day comment period, the NRC is proposing a

multitude of exemptions to an existing rule in order to deregulate or decontrol nuclear

waste and nuclear materials. Recall its previous efforts to deregulate nuclear waste and

materials under terms such as “below regulatory concern,” BRC, “beneficial use,” “de

minimus,” “linguistic detoxification,” and “very low level radioactive waste,” or VLLW.

On Wednesday, October 21 st , the public learned, with just one day’s notice, that

the New Mexico State Emergency Response Committee (SERC) meeting was

canceled. No reason was given. As a result, no public comments about Project Ranger,

a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor manufacturing and static firing testing complex –

the largest in the United States – under construction on the West Mesa near Rio

Rancho, New Mexico, will be heard. The meeting must be rescheduled as soon as

possible.

Did you know that this week Tessa Snyder, the Hazardous Materials

Coordinator, confirmed in writing that she recently met privately with Castelion

Corporation about their Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor

manufacturing and static-firing testing complex on the West Mesa near Rio Rancho,

New Mexico?

The U.S. Navy has ordered 444 fully functional Blackbeard hypersonic missiles

from Castelion Corporation. The government has assigned 80% of the contract work to

be done in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where Project Ranger is nearing completion.

Project Ranger is a 1,000-acre hypersonic manufacturing campus, designed to support

production of solid rocket motors, static testing of those motors and final assembly of

hypersonic weapons.

From Saturday, October 3 rd through Saturday, October 10 th , people around the

world are organizing local events to bring outer space to greater public attention by

proclaiming “Keep Space for Peace.” However, on Monday, September 14 th , the Trump

administration announced it had placed weapons in orbit around the Earth in a major

effort to militarize space. U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink followed up by saying the

United States, “now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint

force against hostile adversary action.” He refused to say what the weapons are, how

many there are or when they were launched.

On Monday, September 14 th , Veterans for Peace lit their new electronic billboard

featuring Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the reader and saying, “I want you to refuse

unlawful orders.” The billboard is located on the south side of the I-40 exit at Wyoming

Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Last week residents of Ypsilanti Township expressed their anger over a

proposed high-performance computing facility near the Huron River in a partnership

between the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Residents are concerned that the proposed project would fuel research into the nuclear

arms race.

From 1946 to 1969, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was used as the station for

top-secret nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. It was also the place where

decontamination was done on the ships used in hydrogen bomb tests. Radioactive and

toxic waste was disposed there.

Why does it matter whether plutonium pits are “aging” before their time? We all

age. We get old and we die. But that’s not what the Department of Energy (DOE) and

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) want for their plutonium pits. They

want to make sure that they will “live” forever.

After working for nearly five years, Los Alamos County and the Department of

Energy updated their original 1985 Electric Coordination Agreement (ECA) for the

interconnected electric system that has powered homes, businesses and Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL) for over 40 years. After months of painstaking work, the

ECA was approved by the Los Alamos County Council on Tuesday, August 25th. DOE

has until Monday, August 31st to also sign.