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Commissioners approve MOU to shift WIPP secondary route onto four‑lane roads
Summary
Howard County commissioners voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding to reroute Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shipments onto a four‑lane path through the county, pending concurrence from neighboring counties and continued coordination with state and federal partners.
Howard County commissioners voted to approve a memorandum of understanding that would move the county's secondary route for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shipments onto a four‑lane road they said would be safer than the current two‑lane alternative.
Jason Johnson of the Texas Division of Emergency Management told the court the shipments are low‑level transuranic waste from Department of Energy sites and stressed the program's security and monitoring protocols, saying, “We're we're looking for a safer route.” He described long‑established safeguards and noted the program has handled thousands of shipments without incident: “There's been over 2,000 shipments” through the routes used in Texas and “over 15,000 shipments nationwide.”
The proposal would shift the alternate path onto US‑87 through Lamesa so county travel would stay on four lanes while passing through Howard County. Johnson said final implementation requires approval by Dawson and Gaines counties and coordination with New Mexico, and that state and federal agencies would continue monitoring the convoys.
The court framed the vote as approval of an MOU supporting rerouting onto four lanes. Commissioner Long moved the motion and Commissioner Wagner seconded; the court recorded the motion as approved with no opposed votes. The commissioners and presenters said the change is intended as a safety improvement, with additional meetings planned to secure the other counties' concurrence.
