Organizations are born from ideas and people make these ideas a reality.  Community leaders of Carlsbad, NM had the idea for a Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management (CEHMM).  The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a community success story that offers a solution for transuranic waste disposal.  CEHMM was to build on this legacy of significant hazardous materials management expertise and expand scientific research into new areas that would benefit the public and environment.

CEHMM was incorporated May 7, 2004 as a State of New Mexico non-profit corporation. CEHMM was established as a not-for-profit scientific research organization and applied for and received a U.S. Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) tax exemption as a public charity.

CEHMM was initially funded in 2004 with a two million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad Field Office.  CEHMM’s subsequent financial support has come from federal and state grants and various donor contributions to the cooperative conservation program.  CEHMM has a DOE approved financial management system and an independent audit is completed annually.

Since its inception, CEHMM has identified and pursued applied research projects that have nation-wide impact and are innovative, meaningful, and practical.  CEHMM has created a wide range of cutting edge research programs, including developing technology for using algae as a feedstock for biofuels and co-products, biomonitoring  for the avian influenza and West Nile viruses, and cooperative conservation of species listed as warranted but precluded on the federal endangered species list.  The purpose of the CEHMM projects is to work toward practical solutions to issues that affect both human health and the environment.  The projects serve the community, the region, and the state through educational outreach, job creation, and research leading to resolution of important technical and environmental challenges.  CEHMM has had swift advances in these projects due to the varied talents of the CEHMM staff and directors, and the organization’s success in developing strong partnerships with universities, national laboratories, government entities, and private industry.

Algae Project: In 2006, CEHMM began the algae project and remains a leader in developing practical, economically feasible systems for growing and harvesting algal cultures, crop protection, and extracting oil from these cultures.  This technology is now nationally regarded as one of the most promising sources of renewable transportation fuel. (more about Algae Project)

Education Project: The ongoing educational project encompasses various activities designed to disseminate information to the general public and to the public schools about hazardous materials management and CEHMM projects.  CEHMM personnel conduct tours of the algae facilities for student groups and other interested parties.  They visit the public schools and deliver information at conferences and public forums on renewable energy research and hazardous materials management.  CEHMM regularly contributes to books, other publications, and films about renewable energy.  CEHMM completed an alternative energy curriculum that will help to develop student awareness toward applied research and stimulate interest that will motivate students to pursue careers in alternative energy.  Disciplines such as this will be critical in the development of a future workforce for the emergence of this national agenda for alternative energy. (more about Alternative Energy)

Conservation Project: CEHMM has long-standing partnerships with the BLM and USFWS on a variety of conservation efforts.  Collaborations have enabled CEHMM to perform work in the areas of wildlife water replacement, archaeological mitigation in southeast NM to include excavation and data collection, dunes sagebrush lizard surveys and habitat improvement, and lesser prairie-chicken surveys and habitat improvement.  For several years, CEHMM, BLM, and USFWS worked together to develop a Candidate Conservation Agreement to set up a mechanism to conserve lesser prairie-chicken and dunes sagebrush lizard habitats while the species are still in candidate status.  Landmark legal agreements were signed by federal and state authorities on December 8, 2008.  These agreements are providing demonstrable results in support of this undertaking.  These programs rely on donor contributions for continued success. (more about Conservation Project)

Biomonitoring Project: From 2007 through 2009, CEHMM conducted a three-year avian biomonitoring project directed toward detecting the H5N1(avian flu) virus, the West Nile virus, banned pesticides and heavy metals.  The project monitored a scavenger species, the Chihuahuan Raven, in areas of west Texas, southern New Mexico, and the adjacent U.S.-Mexico border areas.  The arrival of the H5N1 virus in the United States is a matter of national security and is of nationwide importance.  Early detection is key to deterring the spread of the virus and protecting human health from possible communicable mutations of the virus.  The project established baseline information in the target area and obtained statistical power to detect trends and to characterize distribution and effects of heavy metals, toxins, and viruses. (Biomonitoring of Chihuahuan Ravens Final Report by M. Restani)