With Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm set to visit the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state Friday a coalition of organizations wrote President Joe Biden Tuesday urging a $1 billion increase in cleanup funding for the former plutonium production site.
“Given its role as the workhorse for plutonium production, the scope of Hanford’s cleanup is immense, representing one of the most complex and challenging environmental remediation efforts on the planet,” according to the Aug. 9 letter addressed to Biden.
The groups seek at least $3.76 billion annually for Hanford cleanup starting in fiscal 2024. Congress appropriated about $2.6 billion in fiscal 2022. The Biden administration and the House of Representatives would keep it roughly at that same level in fiscal 2023, although a Senate Appropriations Committee proposal would raise funding to $2.7 billion.
The latest Hanford lifecycle cost estimate from DOE said cleanup could cost anywhere from $300 billion to $640 billion and that the job probably won’t be done until 2078.
Signers of Tuesday’s letter include Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) as well as leaders of the Washington Commission on Hispanic Affairs, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Central Washington Building and Construction Trades, Tri-City Development Council, Hanford Communities, Hanford Challenge, Columbia Riverkeeper and Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 598.
The two governors also issued a joint video statement saying the cleanup funding should be sufficient to avoid sticking future generations with the problem.
Granholm is scheduled to visit Hanford Friday. On Wednesday, she was to visit the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory near Hanford, according to a media advisory. The secretary also visited a research lab at Oregon State University on Tuesday. Granholm is in Washington state for multiple site visits dedicated to advancing clean energy deployment, according to the press notice.
Granholm canceled a trip to Hanford in February around the time Russia was launching its invasion of Ukraine.