Office of the Secretary
For Immediate Release: July 31, 2002CONTACT: Frank Quimby: 202-208-6416
Goldie M. Piatt : 505-845-8358

Sandia National Lab To Work With Interior to Strengthen Security

Washington - The U.S. Department of the Interior will use the research and development expertise of Sandia National Laboratories to strengthen the security and sustainability of the Department's critical missions.

Under a recently signed agreement, Sandia, a Department of Energy lab that specializes in national security issues, will provide Interior with technologies, training, and analyses to improve the safety and reliability of Interior operations and information systems. The action is the latest in a series of measures taken by the Department since 9-11 to improve security.

"Because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on our nation and the continuing threat posed by these groups, the Department faces significant challenges in assuring the safety of its operations that serve vital national interests," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in announcing the agreement. "There is critical need to develop technologies that can help the Department, its bureaus, and its offices meet these challenges."

Sandia National Laboratories, which is based at Albuquerque, New Mexico, carries out studies and develops technologies that address national needs in areas such as nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and critical infrastructure, including emerging threats to energy, water, transportation, law enforcement, and information systems. The lab has considerable expertise in microsensor technology, information sciences, performance-based security analysis, decision modeling, chemistry, and earth sciences.

The Department has the third largest law enforcement contingent in the Federal Government, with about 4,300 officers, and is responsible for protecting more than 450 million acres of federal land, 57,000 buildings at 4,000 facilities, as well as American Indian trust land.

The Memorandum of Understanding between Interior and Sandia establishes the framework for a cooperative program that will support Interior's planning and operations activities. Specific projects will be carried out under implementing agreements, as authorized by federal law and subject to the availability of funds. The MOU is for five years, after which it can be extended for a year at a time.