The New Mexico Environment Department levied a $960,000 fine against the Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Laboratory on Monday, alleging the lab is still failing to adequately monitor groundwater for contaminates.

It is the second time this year the state has fined LANL, claiming the lab has failed to establish a groundwater monitoring system in an active radioactive waste dump area called TA-54. The department fined the lab $291,000 in January.

"I am extremely disappointed that the laboratory would rather pay penalties or fight legal battles than do the right thing and install the monitoring system that the city, county and state have asked for repeatedly," said Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry in a statement.

The state, Santa Fe city and county are concerned about radioactive waste potentially moving through groundwater into the Rio Grande. The city and county have asked LANL and DOE to establish a monitoring system and an early warning system to ensure contaminants don't reach a river diversion project expected to provide much of their drinking water by 2011.

A DOE Los Alamos Site Office spokesperson did not return a call for comment.

Fred deSousa, communications specialist for the lab's environmental programs, said LANL has met the requirements set by the state in 2007. "We thought we had an agreement on how much data are needed to design the remediation for (TA-54)," deSousa said.

DeSousa said 23 new monitoring wells were installed across lab property since then. Two are being drilled in TA-54 and seven new ones are planned.

"The bottom line is that both sides are in agreement that protection of people and environment are the top priorities," deSousa said.

But the state is saying it is too little too late.

James Bearzi, chief of the Environment Department's Hazardous Waste Bureau, said the lab submitted a plan in September 2008 to clean TA-54 and the surrounding Area G. "We sent them back a note saying this has a number of deficiencies, one of which was not enough groundwater monitoring wells in place that would tell if groundwater was already contaminated, would groundwater be protected through the remedies and would it detect contamination in the future."

"One reason the state takes such a strong position on this is we have been saying for years the lab needed a strong groundwater monitoring system," Bearzi said.

Under the consent agreement, the lab is supposed to have waste sites at Area G cleaned up by 2015.

The state also fined the lab $1.87 million in May, alleging the lab had failed to close up a leaking contaminated groundwater monitoring well. Neither of the earlier fines have been settled.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.