Federal officials have backtracked on plans to cancel a lease for office space in New Mexico where dozens of U.S. Department of Energy employees who oversee the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository are based.
The move came Thursday after U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez and other members of the state’s congressional delegation raised concerns, noting the importance of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant to the nation's multibillion-dollar effort to clean up tons of waste from decades of bomb-making and nuclear research.
The office building in question also houses contract workers involved in operations at the underground facility outside of Carlsbad.
The Energy Department confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press that the General Services Administration had revoked its prior notice to exercise termination rights for multiple department facility leases, including the office building in Carlsbad. The department said the move ensures "that these mission-critical operations continue without disruption.”
Vasquez said the initial notice to terminate the lease as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink government spending was reckless and shortsighted.
“This facility is central to the management and disposal of defense-related nuclear waste,” Vasquez said in a warning issued earlier this week. "Its closure could severely disrupt WIPP operations, leading to delays in waste disposal and compromising the safety protocols established to protect both the public and the environment.”
Vasquez's office peppered federal officials with emails and phone calls after hearing that the Carlsbad building was on the GSA's list for savings. He was joined by Democratic U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich.
While federal officials said Thursday that the lease was in “full force and effect,” the Carlsbad office was still among scores of terminated leases listed on the Department of Government Efficiency's official website Friday.
Vasquez's office said the cost cutting and employee reductions being outlined by DOGE have created confusion in New Mexico and other states where the federal government is among the largest employers and have forced federal agencies to scramble to justify their real estate holdings.
In southeastern New Mexico, federal officials and contractors have been working on a costly ventilation project at the underground repository to improve air flow. Just this week, the Energy Department's Office of Environmental Management announced that commissioning of the system is complete, calling it a major milestone.
Carved out of an ancient salt formation about half a mile (800 meters) deep, the subterranean landfill received its first shipment of radioactive waste in 1999. The idea is that the shifting salt will eventually entomb the waste, which includes gloves, clothing, tools and other materials tainted with plutonium and other elements.
