Christina Holt
News-Sun

Nuclear waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could soon pass through Hobbs, as planned highway construction forces officials to seek a temporary alternate route.

The proposed route would bring the shipments through Seminole, Texas, crossing into New Mexico on Highway 62 before continuing on Marland Boulevard through Hobbs to reach the facility about 30 miles east of Carlsbad.

At WIPP, the Energy Department disposes of transuranic nuclear waste (TRU), which is clothing materials, equipment and other debris irradiated during nuclear activities.

The waste is buried at WIPP in a salt deposit about 2,000 feet underground. The salt gradually collapses on the waste, burying the refuse and blocking radiation from escaping.

WIPP’s current transportation route to bring waste in for disposal enters New Mexico on Highway 176 from Andrews, Texas, then travels south on Highway 18 to Jal, and then west on Highway 128 to the facility. But there is planned construction for both Highways 176 and 128 that will completely interrupt the route.

It was unclear how long the interruption would last. The new route will need approval by both the City of Hobbs and Lea County.

The Hobbs city commission did not make a decision at its Monday, April 6 meeting on the proposed route.

WIPP officials are scheduled to present the proposed new route to state regulators on April 16 and invited members of the Hobbs city commission to attend.

Commissioner Larron Fields said his biggest concern was safety since the shipments would be going through the heart of Hobbs.

“I understand we do have gas and oil and other material coming through but when you start talking about nuclear waste, it raises a big concern,” Fields said.

Hobbs Mayor Jonathan Sena didn’t have an issue with the nuclear waste being transported through town because he said it has been done before and thinks it is safe.

“If it’s safe, legal and ethical, I want to try,” Sena said. “I know from my perspective, I wouldn’t oppose this on a temporary basis until we get those highways opened up. I appreciate your transparency and coming to talk to us about this.”

City Manager Manny Gomez said the proposed route would pass through commercial areas as well as some residential areas with pedestrian cross walks and passing some schools.

Specifically, the route would pass directly by the Hobbs High School C-TECH building on Marland Boulevard and two blocks away from Edison Elementary located at 501 E. Gypsy Street.

WIPP has been transporting nuclear waste in the Lea County area for 25 years argued James Mason, WIPP institutional affairs manager, who presented the alternative route at the Hobbs City Commission meeting.

“These are one of the safest transports in the world,” he said. “We are right now at about 14,700 shipments and 17.5 million miles with no incidents.”

There will be about 60 shipments a year over a 40-week period, coming from Georgia and Tennessee. The shipments will undergo several inspections while traveling, Mason said.

The contaminated materials will include tools and gowns from the production of national defense weapons. No liquids, explosives or anything of that nature will be included, Mason said.

The plan would be to come through Hobbs about 1 or 2 p.m. to avoid the morning and evening oilfield traffic rush hour, Mason said.

Local consent

In preparation for establishing a new route, Mason has approached multiple city and county commissions in Texas to get approval to transport the nuclear waste through those communities.

Mason said Big Spring in Howard County, Texas, Lamesa in Owen County, Texas and Seminole in Gaines County, Texas have all given consent to allow WIPP to ship through those towns.

So, the final approval needed to establish WIPP’s new route is from Hobbs city commission and Lea County.

Though the state of New Mexico Transportation Commission would ultimately approve the new route, each community must give their consent to the transport plan.

“We are not going to impose this on any community,” Mason said. “We go work with those communities and get their consent. So, that’s what we’ve been doing. We prefer to work with our communities and develop these relationships.”

Christina Holt’s email is reporter3@hobbsnews.com.

Photos by Mike Smith, Artesia Daily Press

Art creations under six inches are on display through April 30 at the Artesia Public Library as part of the month-long Tiny Art Show.

April 20-25 is National Library Week, sponsored by the American Library Association, it highlights the role libraries, librarians and library workers play in the community.

The Artesia Public Library is preparing for its summer reading program June 1-July 17.

More information is coming next week to artesianews.com and in the April 23 newspaper.

Wheeler Cowperthwaite
For the Artesia Daily Press

A Ruidoso man is facing three felonies after allegedly attacking three men, biting two of them.

Ruidoso Police Officer L. Valenzuela arrested Jose Hernandez, 33, of Ruidoso, on two counts of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, all third-degree felonies, on March 28.

Valenzuela wrote in a statement of probable cause that he was sent to 26008 U.S. Highway 70 for a report of a fight at 3:12 a.m. and when he got there, Jose Zuviria told him that Hernandez, also referred to as Jose Cruz Hernandez, allegedly attacked him. The pair had been drinking outside, Zuviria went to bed, realized he left his phone outside with Hernandez and confronted him.

“The Defendant became aggressive and struck Victim Zuviria in the face,” Valenzuela wrote.

Once on the ground, Hernandez allegedly sat on his chest and hit him multiple times in the face, he wrote.

Zuviria had “significant” swelling to his face, his left eye was swollen shut, he had “multiple facial contusions” and was bleeding from his nose and mouth. An ambulance took him to the Lincoln County Medical Center, he wrote.

As Valenzuela continued to investigate, he learned Hernandez allegedly attacked two more men. He allegedly hit Andres Martinez-Cruz in the face after the man told Hernandez he didn’t want problems on his property and told him to leave, Valenzuela wrote.

During the fight, Hernandez allegedly bit him on the forearm, breaking the skin. Orlando Martinez tried to help Martinez-Cruz in restraining Hernandez, he wrote.

“As the victims attempted to disengage and walk away, the Defendant followed them and produced a retractable utility knife,” he wrote. “The Defendant stabbed Victim Orlando Martinez in the back; however, the knife did not fully penetrate.”

Hernandez then jumped on Martinez’s back and “bit his head causing a break in the skin and removal of hair, and at some point slashed his back, breaking the skin and causing bleeding,” he wrote.

When Valenzuela arrested Hernandez, he saw that there was “a large amount of long hair that belonged to Victim Martinez-Cruz in and outside his mouth.”

Magistrate Judge Katie Lund arraigned him two days later, March 30, and ordered that Hernandez have no contact with the three men he allegedly attacked and released him on an unsecured $5,000 appearance bond. He is to be supervised by pre-trial services.

A preliminary hearing is set for April 30. No prior criminal history appears in New Mexico state courts.

Moriah Lovato
For the Artesia Daily Press

Artesia Police Chief Kirk Roberts said the community recently saw uptick in graffiti, which rose from two and five incidents in January and February to 36 in March.

Roberts said during Tuesday’s city council meeting that he expects other crime to rise as perpetrators graduate from graffiti to higher offenses such as burglary.

“I hope they hear me because we’re coming for them,” he said of the perpetrators. “We’re not gonna have that here.”

Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair reported only 54 days remain on the 26th Street project contract.

“I know it feels like we have been out there for four years,” he said. “We have not. We’ve been out there for 14 months. However, it’s worth it in the end because we got everything done at once. We don’t have to keep revisiting that roadway.”

Other business

The also council approved the annexation of the HF Sinclair Navajo Refinery property, accepting it into city limits.

The city was also approved to the purchase the nearly finished Artesia Recreation Center from the

Artesia Recreation Center Foundation for $2 million.

City Administrator Hayley Klein announced the City expects to “take ownership at the end of April” and for both soft and grand openings to take place in July.

Fire Chief Kevin Hope sought council approval to accept a $20,000 grant from the New Mexico State Aviation Division for maintenance and equipment, an annual grant received by the department. Acceptance of the grant includes a $2,200 match from the City.

The council finished the public portion of the meeting by nominating and voting Councilor Raul Rodriguez as the Mayor Pro Tem for a two-year term.