Washington State Department of Ecology

News Release

Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 5, 2000

00-197

Public asked to comment on change to Hanford cleanup agreement

OLYMPIA – A federal judge will be asked to assume enforcement authority over another key phase of cleanup at Hanford, under a new agreement reached by the state of Washington and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The agreement calls for the Energy Department (Energy) to sign a contract by Jan. 15, 2001, with a private contractor that will be responsible for completing the design and construction of a facility to treat high-level nuclear waste that's currently housed in underground tanks at the Hanford site. That facility will enable the department to meet its commitment in the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) with Washington state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to process at least 10 percent of the amount (25 percent of the radioactivity) of the 53 million gallons of waste in the underground tanks by 2018.

Under the TPA, which has governed most of the Hanford cleanup since 1989, Energy was required, by Aug. 31 of this year, to authorize a contractor to proceed with design and construction. The new agreement calls for removing that missed deadline from the TPA, replacing it with the new 2001 deadline, and putting it under the enforcement authority of the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Washington.

A contract with BNFL Inc. was terminated earlier this year when the company's estimated costs for the waste-treatment plant more than doubled, to $15.2 billion.

Beginning Oct. 9, the public has 30 days to comment on the proposed agreement. After that, the commitments will be added to an existing consent decree between Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology. That decree, approved by the U.S. District Court in 1999, established a schedule for transferring liquid waste from aging single-shell tanks into newer double-shell tanks.

Gov. Gary Locke noted that the 1999 consent decree has proved effective. "The Department of Energy has typically been ahead of the court schedule in getting the liquid waste out of single-shell tanks," he said. "Emptying the tanks and stabilizing the waste is our highest priority at Hanford, and this new agreement helps keep the project moving forward."

"This amendment is an important first step to get the Hanford cleanup back on track," said state Attorney General Christine Gregoire, who participated in discussions that led to the new agreement. "We expect it will result in hiring a capable contractor who will move the vitrification project forward promptly."

U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson said his agency remains firmly committed to constructing a vitrification facility to treat the high-level waste located near the Columbia River.

"We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to complete the Hanford tank-waste project through this agreement," said Richardson. "We need to protect the Columbia River in order to ensure the environmental safety and the economic vitality of the surrounding areas."

The public can download the proposed agreement from the Internet at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/nwp/ or at www.hanford.gov/orp/index.html. Copies also are available at Portland State University's Branford Price Millar Library in Portland, at Gonzaga University's Foley Center in Spokane, or at the Tri-Cities branch of Washington State University, in the Consolidated Information Center.

Comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Nov. 9 to Roger Stanley, Dept. of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600; phone, 360-407-7108; e-mail, rost461@ecy.wa.gov.

Media contacts: Sheryl Hutchison, Dept. of Ecology, 360-407-7004
Matt Nerzig, Dept. of Energy, 202-586-5806