Starting June 29, the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology kicks off a 120-day comment period on revision of the statewide permit for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash.
The state will be taking public comments on Revision 9A between June 29 and Oct. 27, according to a notice on the Ecology Department website.
Back in 2012, the state received more than 5,000 comments from the general public, Hanford DOE contractors, tribes, and other stakeholders. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted comments separately, according to the state website.
The state was also expected to have a pre-comment period introductory meeting on the revision on Wednesday, June 10, an Ecology spokesperson said last week by email. Another hybrid introductory meeting is scheduled for July 15 and will originate from Tri-Cities Visitor Center, on West Grandridge Boulevard in Kennewick. There is a Zoom option.
The permit covers 52 waste sites and facilities at Hanford and is one of Ecology’s primary resources for overseeing DOE’s “treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous and radioactive waste,” according to the website. “Ecology’s priority is to have a current, enforceable, consistent, and implementable permit that is protective of human health and the environment.”