Vasquez, Heinrich, & Luján Call for Independent Review of WIPP Hoist Collapse, Greater DOE Engagement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), alongside U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure an independent, transparent investigation of an August 19 incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), where an empty lift plunged 1,600 feet to the bottom of the shaft after a cable snapped during safety testing.

“This incident is deeply alarming, and it comes against a backdrop of ongoing, documented concerns about the condition of WIPP's aging hoist infrastructure. The safety of WIPP’s workers must come first. These individuals deserve nothing less than full confidence in the systems and procedures on which their lives depend,” wrote the lawmakers.

“We urge the Department to ensure a thorough, transparent investigation of the August 19 incident and to solicit the full engagement of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) as an independent party in that review. Given the nature of the event and the facility's history of hoist-related failures, an independent assessment of these incidents is essential to credibility—both for workers and for the communities that depend on WIPP's continued safe operation,” the lawmakers continued

“This incident also highlights what we understand to be a pattern of unproductive and unsustainable tensions between some WIPP workers and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, the facility's prime contractor. These dynamics, if unaddressed, present their own risk to the safe and stable operation of the facility. A workforce that does not trust the contractor responsible for their safety is a major operational risk,”the lawmakers continued. 

“We want to be clear: the Department of Energy bears ultimate responsibility for the safe, stable, and long-term operation of WIPP...Workers must be kept fully informed of findings and corrective actions, and their safety concerns must be meaningfully addressed, not managed,” the lawmakers concluded.

In September, the lawmakers secured $10 million in federal funding to repair the US 285 Relief Route, a critical road for freight trucks transporting nuclear materials to the WIPP. In 2025, Rep. Vasquez’s proactive and vocal efforts in partnership with local stakeholders prevented the federal government from closing WIPP and leaving New Mexico without a key nuclear waste treatment plant.
 

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