WASH. STATE PROPOSES MASSIVE CHANGES TO WTP, TANK MILESTONES

The state of Washington issued new demands Monday to hold the Department of Energy accountable for Hanford tank waste retrieval and treatment, proposing a lengthy and detailed list of changes to the 2010 court-enforced consent decree. The proposal would have DOE meet the existing final Tri-Party Agreement requirement to have all tank waste treated by 2047, while protecting the environment in the meantime. The state would require new double-shell tanks to be built by 2024 to hold an additional 8 million gallons of waste and would require more central Hanford groundwater and vadose zone treatment under the consent decree. The state would extend the schedule for startup of the Waste Treatment Plant’s High Level Waste and Pretreatment Facilities by up to six years, but would require early startup of the Low Activity Waste Facility. DOE also would be under increased court oversight, submitting regular progress reports and plans to catch up if its schedule slips. DOE has until April 15 to consider the state proposal and then the state and DOE are expected to start dispute resolution, as outlined in the consent decree.

DOE also gave the state a new proposal for amending the consent decree Monday. It included few deadlines, instead committing to set milestones as technical issues are resolved and it gains confidence that it can meet new milestones. Among milestones it did propose was a one-year extension until September 2015 to complete emptying all C Farm tanks and completing hot commissioning of the Low Activity Waste Facility in 2022. The DOE proposal also revealed a plan to simplify the design at the vitrification plant’s Pretreatment Facility to speed resolution of mixing issues. Larger vessels with multiple designs would be replaced with smaller, standardized vessels to improve operability and maintain the same level of throughput, the proposal said.