New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Energy have signed $74 million in settlements over dozens of permit violations related to a radiation leak that forced the closure of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository, according to AP. The settlements are the largest ever negotiated between a state and the Energy Department. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014, when a container of waste burst and released radiation that contaminated parts of the underground facility. The container came from Los Alamos National Laboratory. New Mexico initially proposed more than $54 million in penalties against the federal agency and its contractors for numerous violations at the lab and waste dump.
