Gov. Gregoire, other state officials pledge to prevent further federal delays in cleanup of Hanford radioactive waste

For Immediate Release: November 14, 2005

SEATTLE - Nov. 14, 2005 - Washington State will do whatever is necessary to keep the federal government�s cleanup of 40 years� worth of radioactive waste on track at the government�s former nuclear weapons production complex at Hanford, said Gov. Chris Gregoire during a press conference today.

Gov. Gregoire was joined by Attorney General Rob McKenna and state Ecology Director Jay Manning at the press conference at the Seattle offices of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED).

While construction of a key radioactive waste treatment facility at Hanford is under way, and is one-third complete, recent actions by federal officials would delay the Hanford cleanup by seven or more years to at least 2018 - in violation of a legally binding federal-state consent order executed during the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989.

�Washington will not sit idly by while the United States government breaks its promises to the people of our state and puts our health and resources at risk,� said Gov. Gregoire.

The governor called on President Bush and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to �move forward, without further delay, in getting the Hanford cleanup back on track.�

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who was in the nation�s capital at the time of the news conference, supplied a written statement. She decried the Hanford budget cuts and chastised President Bush�s federal budget rescission proposal that listed the Hanford waste treatment facility as �lower priority� program - making it a prime candidate for congressional budget reductions.

Sen. Murray asked, �How can cleaning up one of the most polluted sites in our country be deemed a lower priority?�

At the news conference, Attorney General McKenna said: "The governor and I are working together to ensure that the federal government stays on track to complete the waste treatment plant. We are exploring all of the state's legal options, both within and outside the Tri-Party Agreement. Cleaning up Hanford is not a partisan issue. It is an issue that unites us all."

The Tri-Party Agreement was negotiated in the late 1980s and signed in 1989 by the State of Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy and has been the master plan for Hanford cleanup.

The Energy Department is the agency responsible for the Hanford site and the cleanup of 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste that is stored in 177 obsolete tanks - many of which have leaked into the ground.

As state Ecology director in 1989, Gregoire negotiated and signed the agreement for the state. Manning, who is the current Ecology director, was Gregoire�s legal negotiator during TPA negotiations. The agreement is a legally binding consent order requiring the federal government to meet specific milestones, complete construction of a Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford, and remove the radioactive waste from underground tanks to safe, permanent storage.

The cornerstone of Hanford cleanup is the waste treatment plant. Manning, now the state Ecology director, said: �With the treatment plant, we have cleanup. Without it, we don�t.�

The waste treatment plant is actually four major facilities. The pretreatment facility will separate tank waste into two parts - high-level radioactive waste and low-level radioactive waste. The separated fractions will then be routed to separate treatment plants. Both plants, however, will use �vitrification� as the method of treating the waste. This technology involves directing a powerful electric charge into the waste, which will turn it into a glass form that can be safely and permanently stored. The fourth facility will be a state of the art laboratory.

The federal Energy Department has invested nearly $3 billion in construction of the waste treatment plant (commonly called the �vit� plant). It is more than 35 percent complete.

Under the Tri-Party Agreement, the U.S. government is committed to maintaining a stable funding level of $690 million per year to complete the Waste Treatment Plant.

However, Energy Department project management problems have caused cost overruns and construction delays.

And now, Congress is acting on two separate, but related, requests by President Bush to cut a total of $200 million this year from the treatment plant construction.

Gov. Gregoire said it is essential to prevent further delays in completing the Waste Treatment Plant and removing the highly radioactive wastes from 177 obsolete underground tanks. She noted that many tanks have already leaked waste into the ground, and all eventually will leak if the waste is not solidified and removed in time.

State Fish and Wildlife Director Jeff Koenings said radioactive contamination of the Columbia River at Hanford would threaten the single most important salmon run in the Pacific Northwest. He said the Columbia�s fall Chinook run drives the salmon fishery of the entire region.

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