Unanimous legislative committee calls for restored independent oversight, a fully functioning safety board, and transparent review of sweeping DOE safety changes

A unanimous, bipartisan committee of the New Mexico Legislature is warning that two developments at the nation’s defense nuclear facilities – the obstruction of independent federal safety oversight and the sweeping rollback of longstanding safety requirements – have created an urgent threat to workers, surrounding communities and national security.

The Legislature’s Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee (RHMC) approved two letters calling for immediate federal action. The letters were sent to President Donald Trump, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the U.S. and New Mexico Departments of Justice, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.

“New Mexico understands better than almost any state what is at stake when the nation’s nuclear weapons enterprise operates without strong, independent safety oversight. Protecting workers, communities and the American public is a national security responsibility. President Trump and Secretary Wright must put Americans’ safety first by restoring the DNFSB’s full access and ensuring that changes to nuclear safety requirements are transparent, technically justified and independently reviewed.” said Senator Jeff Steinborn (D- Las Cruces), chair of the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee.

Independent watchdog denied access and left without a quorum

Congress created the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) to provide independent analysis and recommendations on safety at Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities. Federal law requires DOE to cooperate fully and provide prompt, unfettered access to the facilities, personnel and information the Board needs to perform that mission.

According to the DNFSB’s July 2026 report to Congress, DOE denied eight access requests during the first half of 2026, including access to longstanding safety information and meetings. The committee’s letter states that a March 10 DOE memorandum has been used to block Board observers from safety-related meetings, redact information from reports and withhold technical reviews. The committee says those restrictions are inconsistent with the Atomic Energy Act and compromise legally mandated independent oversight.

At the same time, the five-member DNFSB has only one Senate-confirmed member. Because three members are required for a quorum, the Board cannot issue formal safety recommendations, hold hearings on serious safety concerns or take the collective action contemplated by its statute. The committee calls on the President to nominate four qualified technical experts and on the Senate to prioritize their confirmation.

“Independent oversight is one of the most important checks and balances we have when dealing with nuclear facilities. Public safety has to come first. The DNFSB must have the access, staffing and authority it needs to identify problems early and protect workers, nearby communities, and the public.” said State Representative Stefani Lord (R- Sandia Park), a member of the RHMC.

Sweeping safety changes demand public and technical review

In a separate letter regarding the initiative initially known as Project Velocity, the committee raises serious concerns about 46 new or revised DOE directives issued on August 13, 2026. The committee says the changes were developed without sufficient transparency and with limited review by DOE subject-matter experts and the DNFSB, leaving key federal technical personnel with little opportunity to evaluate the directives before they were released.

The committee identified weakened or eliminated requirements involving:

• Independent technical authority – a reduced role for the Central Technical Authority in approving exemptions from nuclear safety requirements.
• Safety systems – the removal of requirements for configuration management and systems engineering programs that help ensure critical equipment performs as intended.
• Emergency readiness – the elimination of planning requirements for severe and beyond-design-basis events and for reliable emergency response facilities.
• Learning from failures – the cancellation or weakening of systems for reporting operational events, investigating abnormal events and independently reviewing employee technical safety disagreements.
• Contractor accountability – the removal of specific requirements governing safety-equipment lists, procurement controls, inspections for aging and obsolescence, operator procedures and seasonal facility preservation.

The committee warns that the cumulative effect is a system with less specificity about how critical nuclear safety functions must be performed and, in some cases, less visibility into whether they are being performed at all. It is asking DOE to disclose the experts and analyses supporting the changes, explain why each protection was removed, identify replacement safeguards and establish a public review process.

New Mexico has borne the responsibilities and risks of the nation’s nuclear enterprise for generations. The committee points to the multiyear shutdown of a plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, recurring fires at Los Alamos’ plutonium and pit-production facility, and the 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as reminders that institutional safeguards, operational discipline and independent technical review are essential.

“National security and nuclear safety are not competing missions. A strong nuclear deterrent depends on safe, disciplined and independently reviewed operations.” said Senator Harold Pope Jr. (D- Albuquerque), a retired United States Air Force officer and member of the RHMC.