WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today said a spending bill working its way through the Senate contains significant support for New Mexico's two national laboratories. The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which funds the labs and various important New Mexico water projects; the measure is now ready for full Senate action.
The bill increases the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) stockpile budget to $7.19 billion - a 4 percent increase over this year's budget. Overall, the NNSA's budget grew by 5 percent to $11 billion.
Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory will share the funding increase in the following two key areas:
• $1.8 billion for Directed Stockpile Work, about half of this is for Sandia and LANL.
• $2.17 billion for Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities, an increase of $333 million over FY 2011.
"The federal budget is tightening, so it is significant that the labs' budget is increased overall in the Senate bill," Bingaman said. "As the bill continues to work its way through Congress, we will be working hard to ensure our labs have the funding they need to fulfill their missions."
"Overall, this bill bolsters the critical roles that LANL and Sandia play in our national security and in New Mexico's economy," said Udall. "I'm satisfied with the budget growth for these institutions, however, there is also room for improvement in the area of nuclear waste clean up that will be important to address as the bill moves forward."
Other details:
Los Alamos National Laboratory
$310 million for operations that support Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities
$9.88 million for the new TRU waste facility
$10 million for the TA-55 Reinvestment project to ensure the safety of existing facilities
$240 million for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility
$185 million for environmental cleanup
Sandia National Laboratories
$120 million for operations that support Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities
$25 million for the test capability revitalization program to ensure our stockpile can operate safely in a wide range of environments
The 2011 budget request also contains $2.38 billion, a 5 percent increase or almost $110 million in new funding, for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation activities throughout the Department of Energy.
Other highlights for New Mexico:
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plan- $200 million
The spending bill also funds the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers, which fund significant water projects throughout the state. Funding is as follows:
Bureau of Reclamation projects:
Aamodt Water Settlement - $9,400,000 to plan, design, and construct a regional water system in accordance with the settlement agreement.
Carlsbad Project -- $4,004,000 for ongoing operations of the Carlsbad Project which benefits the Carlsbad Irrigation District.
Eastern New Mexico Investigations Program - $47,000 for planning associated with improved water management in the Pecos and Canadian River basins in Colfax, Mora, Harding, San Miguel, Quay, Guadalupe and DeBaca counties.
Jicarilla Apache Rural Water Project - $496,000 to continue to repair and replace the drinking water delivery and wastewater system on the Jicarilla Reservation.
Middle Rio Grande Project - $23,572,000 to continue work on project operations relating to water delivery and continued participation in the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program.
Navajo-Gallup Water Supply - $23,754,000 for planning, design, and construction of the Navajo - Gallup pipeline.
Navajo Nation Investigations Program - $230,000 to support water supply planning efforts within the Navajo Nation in cooperation with other agencies.
Rio Grande Project - $5,037,000 for the ongoing operations of the Rio Grande Project which benefits the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico.
Río Grande Pueblos Project - $250,000 to assess the condition of the irrigation infrastructure of the Rio Grande Pueblos as directed by Bingaman's Río Grande Pueblos Irrigation Infrastructure Act (P.L. 111-11)
San Juan River Basin Investigations Program - $181,000 to support investigations involving the San Juan river basin water supplies.
Southern New Mexico/West Texas Inv. Program - $192,000 to analyze water supply options for irrigation and municipal uses in the Las Cruces, El Paso and Juarez areas.
Taos Pueblo Water Settlement - $4,000,000 to provide grants for design and construction of mutual-benefit projects to both move future non-Indian ground water pumping away from
the pueblo's buffalo pasture and to implement the resolution of a dispute over the allocation of surface water flows between Pueblo and non-Indian irrigation water rights owners.
Tucumcari Project - $72,000 for expenses associated with operation of Conchas Dam and Reservoir northwest of Tucumcari.
Upper Rio Grande Basin Investigations - $78,000 to support investigations involving the Rio Grande water supplies in coordination with the States of Colorado and New Mexico and other water users.
Corps of Engineers projects
Abiquiu Dam - $3,738,000 - for continued management activities at Abiquiu Dam and Reservoir.
Cochiti Lake - $3,240,000 for continued management activities at Cochiti Lake.
Conchas Lake - $3,317,000 for continued management activities at Conchas Lake.
Galisteo Dam - $938,000 to operate and maintain Galisteo Dam.
Jemez Canyon Dam - $1,155,000 to operate and maintain Jemez Canyon Dam.
Middle Rio Grande ESA Collaborative Program -- $2,425,000
Rio Grande Basin, NM, CO & TX - $300,000 to improve water conveyance efficiencies and address ecosystem degradation and flooding throughout the Rio Grande Basin which includes over 160,000 square miles from Colorado, through New Mexico to Texas.
Rio Grande Floodway, San Acacia To Bosque Del Apache - $10,000,000 for maintenance and restoration of the Rio Grande floodway.
Santa Rosa Dam and Lake - $1,814,000 for operation and maintenance of Santa Rosa Dam and Lake.
Two Rivers Dam - $1,053,000 for repairs and maintenance of the Two Rivers Dam in the Roswell area.
Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model Study - $1,312,000 to continue work developing and utilizing the model to assist with Rio Grande operations.
