A lack of funding for comprehensive hazardous-waste cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory required by a 2005 consent order could expose the lab’s operator and the Dept. of Energy to a daily fine of $487,000 under federal law, if a non-profit group’s lawsuit succeeds. Nuclear Watch New Mexico filed the suit on May 12 in U.S. District Court, alleging that DOE and Los Alamos National Security LLC, the operator, prevailed on New Mexico’s Dept. of Environment to allow for the extension of 12 cleanup deadlines, rather than require compliance. In the past, federal officials have blamed inadequate funding for the lack of progress.