Carlsbad, NM --The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office today awarded a $6.8 million, five-year cooperative agreement to the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (NMEMNRD) for the coordination of activities with participating state agencies that ensure the safe transportation of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

Activities under the cooperative agreement focus on required preparations for transuranic waste shipments and continued assurance of safe and uneventful transportation of radioactive waste through the West, as agreed to through the Westerns Governors’ Association WIPP Transportation Safety Program Implementation Guide.

These activities include transportation monitoring, transportation emergency response planning, transportation emergency response training and exercises, transportation emergency response equipment and supplies, public awareness and participation in WIPP Transportation Safety Program activities.

Participating state agencies include: New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM); Department of Public Safety (DPS); Department of Health (DOH); New Mexico Environment Department (NMED); Public Regulation Commission State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO); New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT); and Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources (ENMRD).

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