The New Mexico-based Los Alamos Study Group filed suit Wednesday against the National Nuclear Security Administration in Washington, D.C., claiming the semi-autonomous Department of Energy agency is violating the Freedom of Information Act when it comes to plans for expanded plutonium pit production.
The Albuquerque-based Los Alamos Study Group has made 65 requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in recent times, many surrounding National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans for a multi-billion-dollar investment in pit production at both the DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges NNSA has a pattern and practice of violation of FOIA. The New Mexico advocacy group also said NNSA has provided no basis for failure to properly comply with federal disclosure laws.
“NNSA has been flagrantly violating the Freedom of Information Act for years,” said study group director Greg Mello in a press release. “In this litigation, we hope not only to drag these important documents into the sunshine of public and congressional scrutiny, but also to foster FOIA compliance at NNSA more broadly.”
