Oct. 25—The deadline for a government agency and a national coalition of anti-nuclear organizations to agree on remedies in a dispute involving plutonium pit production has been extended yet again.
Originally, U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis allowed the National Nuclear Security Administration and groups like Nuclear Watch New Mexico 14 days to agree on the next steps, including the request for injunctive relief.
The initial deadline was October 15. The groups submitted a combined application on Oct. 5, which was granted, to extend the deadline until Friday. The deadline was extended a few days earlier to November 4.
Lewis decided in September that the NNSA had failed to adequately explore alternatives to the proposal to build plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as the combined environmental effects of the two sites.
“We’ve reviewed the Court’s ruling and are supporting the Department of Justice as it prepares to meet and confer with the plaintiffs, as ordered,” stated Milli Mike, a public relations specialist with the National Nuclear Security Administration, in an email to The New Mexican.
Source: Court extends deadline for agreement in federal lawsuit over nuclear pit production
