Top Washington state officials said late last week that the Department of Energy’s recent warning that it may miss two cleanup milestones at Hanford is “unacceptable.” Last week, DOE warned Washington and Oregon state officials that two milestones in the Tri-Party Agreement are now at “serious risk” of being missed because of budgetary issues—completion of waste retrieval activities at Hanford’s C Tank Farm by Sept. 30, 2014; and having construction of the Waste Treatment Plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility deemed “substantially complete” by the end of 2014. In a release, Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) said, “Secretary [of Energy Ernest] Moniz called me on Thursday to tell me about this. It was our second conversation on Hanford cleanup since he recently assumed office. I appreciate the Secretary placing a high priority on Hanford cleanup and know he understands that to hear from the federal government less than three years later that, not only two, but now four of those milestones are at risk is unacceptable to the State of Washington.”
Inslee went on to say, “Removing the waste from these aging tanks and completing the Waste Treatment Plant are two of the state’s highest priorities for cleanup at Hanford. … We expect the federal government to do everything within its power to avoid or minimize any possible delays in meeting all its legal and moral requirements to protect the health of our residents and the Columbia River. We are evaluating all our options to ensure those commitments are met.”
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in the release, “The people of Washington deserve answers. The U.S. Department of Energy must show the State that it is doing everything within its power to avoid or minimize any possible delays. … We expect the federal government to provide the State with specific reasons for the delays, the nature of the review by USDOE and its contractors, the environmental risks of the delay, and the recovery schedule USDOE proposes for completion of these milestones.”