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SANTA FE — The state Attorney General's Office wants to jump into a court battle over whether a report on possible leaks at a Sandia National Laboratories mixed waste dump is public record.

The attorney general contends the report should be made public.

The state Environment Department sued an Albuquerque advocacy group in October to keep the report secret. The department cited executive privilege in preventing the disclosure of the 2006 report by TechLaw, a consulting company.

Citizen Action countersued and accused the agency of violating open meetings and open records laws.

The Attorney General's Office filed a motion in state District Court in Santa Fe on Wednesday to intervene in the case. The office is asking that the court rule against the Environment Department.

"Our analysis is that the requested document is a public record and the report should be disclosed," said Attorney General Gary King.

The office says it has twice informed the Environment Department that it must disclose the report.

Environment Secretary Ron Curry said it's unfortunate King's office is opposing the agency's "good-faith effort to resolve a dispute with this group in the neutral forum of the courts."

Curry continued, "We believe in our position, and it is only fair to have an opportunity for court assessment of our position."

The landfill has been the source of an ongoing dispute between Citizen Action and the Environment Department.

A state Court of Appeals ruling in December allows the lab to cover the dump with dirt rather than dig it up — affirming a decision by Curry in 2005 not to require excavation of the landfill.

Activists, including Citizen Action, want the mixed waste — radioactive and other hazardous materials — dug up and stored because of fears it would contaminate groundwater.

The Environment Department says it has found no groundwater contamination at the landfill and has said excavating it would be riskier than leaving it where it is.