Governor Gregoire: Hanford Clean-up Vital to Health and Safety, Concerned About Provisions in the President's Budget

Governor Gregoire: Hanford Clean-up Vital to Health and Safety, Concerned About Provisions in the President's Budget

OLYMPIA - Governor Chris Gregoire today responded to the President's proposed budget and its impact on the cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site. More than one million gallons of waste have leaked into the soil at Hanford and waste is reaching groundwater and moving toward the Columbia River.
"Cleaning up the Hanford site is vital to Washington State, to the region, and to the nation," said Governor Gregoire. "This is not just another public works project. Hanford is one of the most contaminated sites in North America, and the federal government has made a commitment to clean it up. This project is critical to the health and safety of our residents and to the economic and environmental vitality of the region."

Safety is a primary concern

Many of the underground, million-gallon storage tanks at Hanford are deteriorating and are long beyond their design life. More than 53 million gallons of radioactive waste in the tanks needs to be removed and converted into a glass material that can be stored safely.

"Every year that passes without adequate funding, we risk a very dangerous scenario - a plume of highly radioactive waste moving underground and into the Columbia River," said Governor Gregoire. "The River is a lifeline for the region and its contamination would be dangerous to people, communities and the environment, including Hanford Reach salmon runs, which remain the most important in the Northwest. Damage to the Columbia River would be devastating."

The President's budget

Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy this week briefed state officials about details of the President's budget as it relates to the Hanford site. The budget restores funding for the Waste Treatment Plant to the previously committed level of $690 million, but appears to slow down or eliminate other important clean-up work.

"The proposed funding for the Waste Treatment Plant is a positive step toward the removal of waste from the deteriorating tanks but it should not be at the expense of progress on USDOE's commitments to other vital projects at Hanford," said Governor Gregoire.

Governor Gregoire said that the proposed decrease in funding for retrieving waste from single-shell tanks is alarming and must be reconsidered. Likewise, construction of the Bulk Vitrification Plant appears to be halted. The purpose of this plant, which will be much smaller than the Waste Treatment Plant, is to provide important capacity to convert lower-level radioactive waste into safer, glass material.

USDOE officials have said that, despite proposed budget language, the federal government remains committed to tank waste retrieval and to the Bulk Vitrification Plant as "core components" of cleanup.

"Language in the President's budget and the assurances from the Department of Energy appear to be contradictory," said Governor Gregoire. "We have made our concerns very clear to them and expect the discrepancy to be cleared up as Congress considers the proposal."

Gregoire to work with Congressional Delegation

Governor Gregoire said that, as the President's budget move through the process, she will work closely with Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Representative Doc Hastings and other members Washington's Congressional Delegation to make sure the $690 million Waste Treatment Plant funding is in the final budget.

She committed to also work with the Delegation to pass a budget that maintains consistent funding for all key components of the cleanup - including retrieval of tank waste and construction of the Waste Treatment Plant and the supplemental Bulk Vitrification Plant. Governor Gregoire has also asked Jay Manning, director of the Washington Department of Ecology, to closely track work at the Hanford site to avoid or minimize slowdown in construction or nuclear waste retrieval.

"Cleanup at the Hanford site must continue on pace to ensure the safety of the region and our citizens," said Governor Gregoire.

As director of the Washington Department of Ecology from 1988 to 1992, Governor Gregoire negotiated the Tri-Party Agreement that secured the federal government's commitment that they would fund and complete the site cleanup within established milestones. As Attorney General, she fought to ensure that the Tri-Party Agreement stayed on track.

http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=237&newsType=1