Southwest Research and Information Center

Southwest Research and Information Center is a nonprofit advocacy and research organization based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, focused on environmental justice, nuclear issues, water policy, and community advocacy in the American Southwest. Established amid regional debates over uranium mining, Native American rights, and energy development, the organization has engaged with federal agencies, state legislatures, tribal governments, and national institutions to influence policy and public awareness. Its work intersects with major events and institutions across New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and federal bodies such as the United States Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

History

Founded in 1971, the organization emerged during the era of the Nixon administration and the burgeoning environmental movement that included the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. Early work addressed the legacy of uranium mining in the United States and the impacts on communities near the Navajo Nation, engaging with issues tied to the Manhattan Project legacy and Cold War-era nuclear programs managed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it collaborated with activists involved in actions related to Wounded Knee, American Indian Movement, and regional coalitions that confronted energy extraction tied to corporations and agencies implicated in disputes also involving Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. In subsequent decades the group expanded to cover water conflicts associated with the Colorado River Compact, groundwater disputes involving Rio Grande Project, and remediation of contamination sites on lands affected by Environmental Protection Agency Superfund designations.

Mission and Activities

The organization's mission centers on environmental analysis, legal advocacy, technical assistance, and community education, often producing technical reports and testimony used before bodies like the New Mexico Legislature, the United States Congress, and federal permitting agencies. Staff and collaborators include analysts who have published materials engaging with issues related to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, and litigation that reached panels within the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Work has intersected with tribal sovereignty concerns involving the Navajo Nation, the Pueblo peoples, and advocacy networks connected to groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club. The organization has also liaised with academic institutions including University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, and Arizona State University to support research on contamination, water allocation, and renewable energy transitions associated with entities like Salt River Project and regional utilities.

Programs and Projects

Projects have addressed radioactive waste policy, uranium mill tailings, remediation of legacy sites like those associated with Grants, New Mexico and the Ambrosia Lake Uranium District, and monitoring related to shipments to sites such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Programs include public records monitoring, technical review of environmental impact statements for projects tied to Public Service Company of New Mexico and interstate transmission proposals involving corridors considered by the Bureau of Land Management and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The organization has engaged in water policy projects concerning interstate compacts such as the Colorado River Compact and state compacts involving Rio Grande Compact disputes, while participating in coalitions alongside groups like Western Watersheds Project and Taos Pueblo advocates. Other efforts have involved community organizing around energy transitions that reference federal initiatives such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and climate policy debates linked to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.

Organizational Structure and Funding

Governance has typically included a board of directors with representation from regional activists, lawyers, scientists, and community leaders, and staff with expertise in hydrology, radiochemistry, and policy analysis often collaborating with scholars from institutions such as Stanford University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley. Funding sources have ranged from private foundations that support environmental and social justice work—foundations like the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation—to grants from charitable trusts and donations from individual supporters, as well as fee-for-service contracts to review technical documents for tribal governments and municipalities. Interactions with federal grant programs administered by agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have been part of project funding mixes, and financial oversight follows nonprofit reporting practices applicable under Internal Revenue Service rules governing 501(c)(3) organizations.

Impact and Controversies

The organization has influenced remediation decisions, regulatory processes, and public awareness regarding radioactive contamination and water rights, contributing to settlements and cleanup plans involving the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy remediation programs. Its reports and advocacy have been cited in administrative proceedings before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and in litigation in federal courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Controversies have arisen from opposing stakeholders in energy, mining, and waste management industries, and from debates over national policy such as siting for consolidated interim storage tied to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository controversy and proposals involving private companies and federal contractors with ties to Bechtel and other defense contractors. Critics from industry and some elected officials have challenged the group's positions, while supporters include tribal leaders, environmental coalitions, and academics who cite its technical analyses in forums ranging from state hearings to congressional committees such as those chaired by members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Category:Environmental organizations based in New Mexico