Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 11, 2000
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Statement by Gov. Locke on selection of new Hanford contractor

"I applaud the Department of Energy for moving quickly to hire a new contractor to construct a plant to turn into glass more than 50 million gallons of highly radioactive waste at the Hanford Reservation.

"Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has made good on a promise he made to me and the citizens of Washington last May to move quickly to put another contract in place after the previous contractor was fired.

"The next step is to complete negotiations with the department to produce a new consent decree that will ensure the plant will be constructed on time. That means this project will move forward no matter who is president in the decades to come."

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