The Department of Energy has issued a decision to clear the way for a multi-billion-dollar plant to start turning radioactive sludge into a solid glass form at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement late Wednesday she was glad DOE has signed Critical Decision-4 for the vitrification plant. Murray had expected DOE to sign the paperwork in August prior to startup of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Facilities at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).
A DOE spokesperson said in an email to Exchange Monitor that the department’s Office of Environmental Management has approved WTP Critical Decision 4 which signals federal approval for state of operations or project completion.
“Approval of Critical Decision 4 brings Hanford another step closer to introducing radioactive tank waste into the Waste Treatment Plant where it will be solidified in glass to meet the October 15, 2025, milestone,” DOE spokesperson said. “As with every project, Hanford continues working through remaining steps to prepare for start-up in a safe and deliberate manner.”
“After unacceptable delays, it’s good that DOE has finally heeded my call to sign the paperwork necessary to move forward with the final step of hot commissioning before treatment of radioactive waste can begin on October 15th,” Murray said in her statement.
In an eventful couple of weeks, Murray and other state officials, including Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), has accused Secretary of Energy Chris Wright of waffling on his commitment to WTP.
This started after Roger Jarrell, the acting head of Environmental Management, was apparently forced out by Secretary Wright.
Jarrell is said to have resisted Wright on whether DOE should reconsider going forward with the $24-billion WTP.
The secretary of energy’s mixed messages prompted the governor to threaten to go to court and Murray placed a hold on the nomination of Tim Walsh to be the new EM-1. The Walsh nomination by the White House cleared committee in July but has yet to be subjected to a full Senate vote.
White House nominees to head DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Nuclear Energy among a group of 48 nominees confirmed by the Senate this week but Walsh was not included in the vote.
“The united voices of workers, businesses and elected leaders are making a difference,” Ferguson said in a Thursday statement. “We will hold the Trump administration accountable to the Oct. 15 deadline to begin treating waste at the Waste Treatment Plant.”
Despite this week’s Critical Decision-4, not everyone is convinced that the WTP is home free. “Not until it actually goes hot,” one industry executive said Friday.
The Waste Treatment Plant built by Bechtel National has been in the works for more than 20 years. The plant has been bedeviled by schedule delays and cost overruns and a 2020 Government Accountability Office report suggested it could end up costing $30 billion.