The Department of Energy will hold a public meeting today (Dec. 14) on revising a state permit to allow for starting construction of the Effluent Management Facility at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant. The new facility is planned to treat secondary liquid effluent generated by the vitrification plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility. The Effluent Management Facility is needed to allow certain Hanford waste now held in underground tanks to be treated at the Low-Activity Waste Facility as soon as 2022 while full operation of the vit plant is delayed by technical issues. A federal judge has ordered that full operations at the WTP begin by 2036.
Some work has been done on the Effluent Management Facility’s foundation, but construction cannot begin the remainder of the building until the state Department of Ecology approves proposed modifications of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Dangerous Waste Permit. The permit is being modified in phases, with approval of ancillary equipment, such as piping, and equipment, such as condensers, yet to be considered. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive. Public comment may be submitted at [email protected] until Jan. 27.
