October 9, 2023

Press conference and rally, Santa Fe City Hall, Wednesday Oct. 11 at noon; mobilization also at 5 pm same place, same day; other actions

Previous letter (10/02/23): What you can do to help oppose plutonium pit production; more

Good afternoon friends --

As mentioned in the last letter, we are asking the Santa Fe City Council to pass a resolution opposing all plutonium warhead core ("pit") production at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

The City did declare its unconditional opposition to pit production at LANL in resolutions 2003-64, 2005-39, 2006-104, and 2008-17, before LANL was assigned an industrial pit production mission. Resolution 2005-39, in addition to opposing nuclear weapons production, also inter alia affirmed the identity of the City of Santa Fe as supporting and leading in nuclear disarmament pursuant to international law, and rejected as immoral the policy of nuclear deterrence.

We have provided a draft resolution along these lines to Councillor Villarreal opposing all LANL pit production, and also opposing the creation of satellite LANL laboratories and classified offices in the City of Santa Fe, as well as any offices for classified work. We are also asking the City to call on the New Mexico congressional delegation to:

• Halt all preparations for plutonium pit production at LANL, including but not limited to the Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project (LAP4);
• Prioritize removal and disposal of legacy plutonium waste from LANL over production of additional nuclear waste from nuclear weapons activities, including manufacturing and preparations for manufacturing; and
• Decrease federal spending currently allocated for nuclear weapons activities and increase funding to support human security, community resilience, and environmental protection.

These demands are similar to those in the Call for Sanity, Not Nuclear Production, now supported by 112 businesses, nonprofits, and religious organizations as well as more than 500 individuals.

By way of background, LANL is proposing one or more new "mini-campuses" in Santa Fe and/or Bernalillo or Rio Rancho as a way to make more room for pit production at LANL ("Los Alamos to metastasize as weapons mission outgrows site, Jul 17, 2023). ("LANL Growth & Mission support," Kelly Beierschmitt, Jul 18, 2023) (video of LANL presentation, start at 4:45). LANL leases three properties in Santa Fe already, with roughly 500 staff working there and/or in Santa Fe homes. LANL envisions 3,600 staff working somewhere offsite by 2028 (p. 11).

In 2019, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) was authorized to take over the entire Midtown property, if chosen by the City to develop that property (DOE/NNSA Proposal for an Innovation Campus, Midtown Santa Fe). While this proposal is not active, it shows how serious NNSA and LANL can be where new "campuses" are concerned in what is perceived as a choice "bedroom community" for LANL.

We are having a press conference and rally outside the Santa Fe City Hall (200 Lincoln Ave., map) this Wednesday October 11 at NOON, near the humble statue of St. Francis (whose exemplary faith and practice are all too easy to forget, even in a City named for that faith).

Representatives of a number of organizations will be speaking, as well as others who have endorsed the Call for Sanity, Not Nuclear Production. We are inviting the mayor and councilors and we will have copies of the proposed resolution.

We will also be mobilizing for the possibility of in-person public comment on the resolution at 5 pm, again at the City Council, which will be meeting in the same location as the press conference earlier. Right now, public comment is the 17th item on the agenda. Ideally they would move public comment towards the beginning of the meeting, which we will request, but we are not expecting that.

You can also join and make a comment remotely -- see https://santafenm-gov.zoom.us/j/83716254269.

• On a computer: Attendees should use the “Raise Hand” function to be recognized by the Mayor to speak at the appropriate time.
• On a phone: To join the Zoom meeting using a phone, use the following phone numbers and Webinar ID: US: 1 (346) 248-7799 - Webinar ID: 837 1625 4269. Phone attendees should press *9 to use the “Raise Hand” function to be recognized by the Mayor to speak at the appropriate time.

We do not know at what time such input will be allowed.

You can send a written public comment and email to the Mayor and City Councilors (addresses) asking them to pass a resolution stating they oppose ALL pit production at LANL and oppose any further LANL encroachments into Santa Fe, including opening any kind of "mini-campus."

We encourage you to personalize your comment with information about how LANL encroachment in Santa Fe, and the expansion of its plutonium and nuclear weapons missions affects you and/or your organization.

You can post your comment here: https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal# by clicking the blue speech icon to the right of the Oct. 11 “Governing Body - Regular Meeting.”

Also, please reach out to organizations and businesses asking them to endorse the Call for Sanity, Not Nuclear Production. Solidarity is growing, to stop the madness of producing more nuclear weapons, as the screams of war ring ever louder.

It is all too easy to forget: LANL is a menace to the entire world. LANL's huge new mission of industrial pit production is incredibly important to the U.S. war machine. This is not the LANL that most people are used to. It's now a huge center for a global nuclear arms race, the best-funded facility for weapons of mass destruction in the entire world, and one that is undergoing a metamorphosis into something far more impactful and more ugly than ever.

Please come on Wednesday if you can.

Sincerely,

Greg, Trish, Bex, and Jessie, for the Los Alamos Study Group community