NM regulators approve shaft at Carlsbad nuclear waste site

Work on $100 million project to improve ventilation at WIPP halted in 2020

CARLSBAD — State environmental regulators have cleared the way for work to continue on a multimilliondollar ventilation shaft at the federal government’s underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico.

Ventilation has been an issue since 2014, when a radiation release contaminated parts of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and forced an expensive, nearly three-year closure, delayed the federal government’s cleanup program and prompted policy changes at national laboratories and defense-related sites across the U.S.

The state Environment Department last week approved a permit modification requested by the U.S. Department of Energy to build and use the utility shaft. Temporary authorization previously was granted but work stopped in November 2020 after state officials opted not to renew the authorization, citing a rise in COVID-19 infections among workers at the repository.

Estimated to cost about $100 million, the shaft will be a key part of the repository’s revamped ventilation system. With more airflow, officials have said more employees can be in the underground space working on mining and waste operations simultaneously.

The project is expected to be completed in 2025 and would triple the available air flow, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.

In the notice of approval, New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said more airflow was needed for the repository to achieve its mission.

Donavan Mager, a spokesman for Nuclear Waste Partnership — the contractor that manages the facility — said it was unclear when construction would resume.

Subcontractor Harrison WesternShaft Sinkers was awarded a $75 million contract to build the shaft in 2019. When complete, it will reach a depth of about 2,275 feet and will include two access drifts to connect the shaft with the rest of the WIPP >>