Friday, Dec. 13, 1996
Director signs cooperative agreement
with Santa Clara Pueblo
Laboratory Director Sig Hecker addresses Santa Clara Pueblo, Department
of Energy, University of California and other invited guests during Thursday's
signing ceremony at Santa Clara Pueblo. Seated left to right are Bruce Twining,
manager of DOE's Albuquerque Operations Office; Santa Clara Pueblo Gov.
Gilbert R. Tafoya; and Ronald Nelson, UC's director of contracts management.
The cooperative agreement aims to strengthen and improve relationships between
the Lab and Santa Clara Pueblo. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez
The signing ceremony at the pueblo Governor's Office was witnessed by other Lab officials, members of the Santa Clara Pueblo Tribal Council and representatives from the University of California and Department of Energy.
"This signing completes the establishment of formal relationships with four tribes near the Lab who also have accords with DOE," said Gilbert Suazo of the Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office. Suazo and Santa Clara Pueblo Lt. Gov. Walter Dasheno coordinated the agreement and Thursday's signing ceremony.
Two years ago, Hecker signed similar cooperative agreements with Cochiti, Jemez and San Ildefonso pueblos.
"I am very pleased about the progress we have made in our relations with [Santa Clara] Pueblo that leads us to a new level of cooperation and collaboration," Hecker said in a letter. " We will continue to support Santa Clara and the other pueblos in the development of their technical capabilities so that the complex issues and concerns about potential impacts from Lab operations can be addressed and resolved."
The Lab is hosting a reception for Santa Clara Pueblo at 9 a.m., Dec. 20 in the Study Center.
The agreement allows Santa Clara Pueblo meaningful participation and consultation in ongoing Lab activities, as well as the planning of new Lab activities of interest to the pueblo, said Suazo.
The agreement also calls for the pueblo to contribute to the evaluation of environmental and cultural issues associated with Lab activities, and for the Lab and pueblo to develop mechanisms to inform each other in a timely manner about issues of mutual concern.
"Successful interaction and dialogue will enable the parties to understand issues important to the welfare of the other and will allow them to participate in the decision-making process when significant actions of one affects the interests of the other," the cooperative agreement states.
Under the cooperative agreement, the Lab and pueblo will work to identify and remove any impediments to working together, and both will work toward more efficient and beneficial communications to enhance participation in ongoing activities.
The Lab also will work with the pueblo and UC to identify, develop and implement educational opportunities to strengthen the future relations between the two, said Suazo. A Lab-pueblo working group will be established to carry out the objectives of the cooperative agreement, Suazo added.
--Steve Sandoval
NM 502 construction update
The contractor building a new interchange at NM 502 and NM 30 on Monday will begin paving the onramp from NM 30 onto westbound NM 502.
Once completed, Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel traveling to work from Española should expect shorter delays.
Meanwhile, work on the other major highway construction project of interest to Lab employees continues in Pojoaque.
Danny Gallegos, project supervisor with the state Highway and Transportation Department, said the contractor also will begin paving the onramp from westbound NM 502 to NM 30 and the "approaches" to the soon-to-be built bridge over NM 502.
By late January or early February, the general contractor should begin building the new bridge over NM 502. The $4 million interchange project is scheduled to be completed next October. But weather permitting, Gallegos said the project could be finished by next summer.
"The contractor was working 12-hour nights to accommodate motorists traveling to Los Alamos," said Gallegos. He noted that Corn Construction Co. of Albuquerque isn't working at nights anymore. They had gone to the 12-hour night schedules in order to move 450,000 cubic yards of dirt from San Ildefonso Pueblo north of NM 502 to the south side of the highway where the approaches to the new bridge will be built.
The approaches carry eastbound NM 502 traffic onto the new bridge, and vehicles from NM 30 over and onto NM 502, Gallegos explained. He added that the approaches won't be used until the bridge is built.
NM 30 is a two-lane road that cuts through Santa Clara Pueblo intersecting with NM 502 on the south and Española on its northern end.
Another change, Gallegos said, places a stop sign at the NM 30-NM 502 intersection; there is presently a yield sign at the intersection. The stop sign will affect motorists who want to make a left turn onto NM 502. Gallegos suggested that motorists consider using U.S. 84-285 to avoid delays.
The contractor has completed the concrete earth retaining wall on the north side of NM 502; work on the retaining wall on the south side of the highway has begun. This work doesn't affect traffic.
The posted speed limit through the construction area is 45 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, the contractor building a new interchange at U.S. 84-285 and NM 502 near the Cities of Gold Casino has started work on a road that will connect NM 502 with U.S. 84-285.
Most of this work is centered under the new bridge already built, said Kathleen Garcia, an engineer assistant in the state road agency's Española project office.
Once this road is complete, the temporary traffic signal now in place will be shifted north slightly to align it with NM 502, she said.
The new interchange is phase one of a larger project that includes construction of frontage roads on both sides of U.S. 84-285 and construction of a new bridge at U.S. 84-285 and NM 503, the turnoff to Nambe.
About 2,000 Lab employees and subcontractor personnel live in Santa Fe County; 2,300 live in Rio Arriba County and another 500 live in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties south and west of Santa Fe. Many of them travel Interstate 25, U.S. 84-285 and NM 502 to work daily.
The Lab allows managers to use flex-time scheduling, but employees should plan on delays and adjust their schedules accordingly.
Employees and subcontract personnel traveling from Santa Fe and points south who commute along this route also may consider joining car or vanpools. Those interested in joining a vanpool can call 988-7433, 294-0302 or 877-9597.
--Steve Sandoval
The general contractor working on the new interchange at NM 502 and NM 30 has nearly completed a concrete retaining wall on the north side of the highway, while work continues on a similar structure on the south side of NM 502. The walls are backfilled with dirt, rebar and concrete and help support beams and trusses for the bridge decking. The $4 million interchange project is scheduled to be completed next October. Photo by Fred Rick
The Science and Technology Program on CNN will feature a story on stockpile stewardship Saturday at 9 a.m. Included in the story will be interviews with several Los Alamos scientists. |
Facilities care and maintenance during closure
The coming of the winter closure brings changes to the usual office
routine. The following information should answer most questions about the
closure from a facility viewpoint.
Because very few people will be in Lab buildings during the closure, employees need to help minimize the potential for fire and other disasters. Facilities, Security and Safeguards (FSS) Division will check major and problem buildings, but not every area of the Lab will be inspected. You are asked to
-- turn off all electrical equipment, including coffee pots, heaters, office machines and all experimental equipment that can be turned off;
-- avoid equipment and building damage by keeping thermostats at their normal settings;
-- close all exterior doors, windows and blinds to conserve heat
(interior doors normally left open should be kept open to allow heat to
circulate);
-- remove private vehicles from Lab parking lots (during snow removal, any vehicles in the way will be towed to another part of the lot at the owner's risk);
-- make sure plants have enough water to make it through the holidays; and
-- in a change from last year, all elevators will remain in service during the shutdown this year.
Lab's wastewater plant staff wins regional award
Staff members of the Laboratory's sewage treatment plant on Thursday were honored by the regional wastewater association for the high quality of effluent from the plant.
The Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association presented the association's 1996 Plant Performance Merit Award to plant engineer Charles Barnett from Johnson Controls World Services, which operates and maintains the plant. Also recognized were members of the Lab's Water Quality and Hydrology Group (ESH-18) and the Utilities and Infrastructure Group (FSS-8).
The Lab's Sanitary Wastewater Systems Consolidation Plant at Technical Area 46 "was observed to consistently produce a high quality effluent; (and) the performance was extensively monitored," according to a letter from Ron Mosher, past president of the association.
The award selection recognizes the Lab's "notable achievements," association vice president Ralph Clark wrote in a letter.
The plant treats all Laboratory wastewater as well as wastewater from the Royal Crest trailer park. It receives wastewater from 1,200 buildings through 54 miles of sewer line. The system includes 42 lift stations and 30 holding tanks. The plant came on line in 1992, consolidating dozens of older treatment facilities.
The plant earlier this year won an Environmental Excellence Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA noted that in its four years of operation the wastewater plant had no violations of wastewater treatment and discharge standards.
The Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association includes wastewater operators, design engineers, managers, manufacturers, suppliers and public officials from New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. It is the regional member of the national Water Environment Federation.
--Jim Danneskiold
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