This week "Report from Santa Fe" presents a new interview with Senator Jeff Steinborn, D -Dona Ana, vice-chair of the NM Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee, discussing the breaking news story of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocking the proposed Holtec International Nuclear Waste Site in New Mexico and killing Holtec's license for temporary nuclear waste storage in New Mexico

This landmark Court decision cannot be overturned and is protected by legislation passed by the state of New Mexico in 2023 making it illegal to store this waste in NM until the state concurs and there is a permanent federal repository. He addressed rumors of the expansion of WIPP (The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) in light of this court decision.

Senator Steinborn also discussed the progress and next steps for the cleanup of the hundreds of abandoned uranium mine sites and tailings piles in Western New Mexico, many of them on Native American land. The Senator passed a bill in 2022 to accomplish this but more money is needed from the federal government and the state to finish the clean up.

Exciting advancements in Outdoor Recreation were described with a status report on the progress of New Mexico's Rio Grande Trail. The Rio Grande, which ribbons through the state from north to south, is the fourth longest river in the U.S.