Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
7/3/2014
A second deadline came and went late last week without resolution for the Department of Energy and the state of Washington on how to modify a court-enforced consent decree that helps govern the cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste. The two sides have proposed differing approaches for modifying the consent decree after DOE acknowledged it would likely miss many remaining deadlines. After an initial 40-day dispute resolution period ended June 2, DOE and the state agreed to extend talks to June 27, after which the state could choose to have a court force DOE to accept its proposal. Now that the June 27 deadline has passed, it remains unclear whether the two sides will seek to keep talking.
For its part, DOE said this week that it wants to continue talks with Washington state. “The Department of Energy has had additional productive discussions with the State of Washington and remains interested in continuing those discussions to develop a mutually acceptable path forward,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response. In a separate response this week, a spokeswoman for Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said, “We’re evaluating our next steps based on the latest discussions and will share our decision with the public once it’s made.”
State Calls for Numerous New Milestones, Along With New Tanks
The 2010 consent decree currently requires operations to begin at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in 2019, with full plant operations to get underway by 2022. All waste would be retrieved from Hanford’s single-shell tanks by 2040, with all tank waste treatment to be completed by 2047. However, DOE has warned Washington state that it is at risk of missing the remainder of the WTP-related milestones in the consent decree, along with some milestones tied to waste retrieval from Hanford’s single-shell tanks. In its proposal to modify the consent decree, DOE has proposed setting new milestones for having the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility in operation and for resolving some of the technical issues that have slowed portions on other parts of the vit plant, but would hold off on setting firm schedules for completing the entire plant and getting it into operation until such technical issues are fully resolved.
In contrast, Washington state’s proposal would establish a significant amount of new milestones to track the progress of the various WTP facilities. The state is also proposing new milestones for waste retrieval from Hanford’s single-shell tanks to ensure all waste retrievals are completed by 2040. In addition, Washington state is also seeking to set requirements for the creation of new double-shell tank storage capacity that the state says is necessary to keep waste retrieval operations on track, along with a set of new reporting requirements.
