Move Could Send Issue to Federal Court
Staff Reports
WC Monitor
9/12/2014
Hanford is a step closer to possibly having a federal judge make key cleanup decisions, after the state of Washington said late last week that it would not extend a deadline for discussions on proposals to modify a 2010 consent decree that governs the cleanup of the site’s underground waste tanks. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and Attorney General Bob Ferguson made the announcement Sept. 5 as the latest consent decree dispute resolution deadline expired with no agreement reached. Both the Department of Energy and the state had agreed not to ask the court to intervene in a dispute over how to amend the consent decree as discussions continued through Sept. 5. The state had extended the deadline twice after triggering dispute resolution this spring.
The consent decree requires at least 40 days of dispute resolution before the issue can be brought before the court. The clock now has started on a 30-day period in which either party may file a motion in federal court that could put a decision on Hanford cleanup deadlines in the hands of a judge. The state has told DOE it is willing to continue to work with DOE to reach an agreement while it considers whether to file a motion in federal court. Progress has been made in negotiations, according to the state. DOE agreed in a statement that the additional discussions with the state of Washington have been productive. “[The] announcement by the state of Washington is not unexpected, and as we continue to work with the state in an effort to reach a workable agreement, the department will continue to evaluate the full range of options for next steps,” the DOE statement said.
Washington State Wants Lengthy Set of New Milestones
DOE earlier informed the state that it is at risk of missing most of the remaining deadlines in the 2010 consent decree. The deadlines cover emptying waste from certain single-shell tanks and for the construction and operation of the Waste Treatment Plant, including that the plant be at full operation in 2022. DOE and the state both proposed changes to the consent decree this spring, but each rejected the other’s plan. The state proposed a detailed and lengthy list of deadlines to keep construction of the vitrification plant and waste treatment on track. They would require the vitrification plant to start glassifying low-activity radioactive waste by 2019 and all Hanford waste held in underground tanks to be treated for disposal no later than 2047. The state also proposed new requirements to protect the environment, including building new tanks to hold eight million gallons of waste by 2024.
DOE criticized the state’s proposal this spring, saying it did not adequately account for the realities of the resolution of technical issues at the vitrification plant and budget constraints. Setting unrealistic deadlines creates false expectations in the community and with the state and erodes confidence, DOE said. DOE instead proposed setting some near-term deadlines, including for the portion of the vitrification plant without technical issues. Then it would negotiate and set longer-term deadlines on a rolling schedule as technical issues are resolved in other areas. The state said DOE’s proposal lacked “specificity, accountability and enforceability.”
Local Officials Want State to Drop Call for New Tanks
The expiration of the consent decree negotiation agreement is unfortunate, said Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford projects for the Tri-City Development Council. “I think the state and DOE really need to get together on what is the highest risk for the site and the community,” he said. TRIDEC has previously said that important Hanford cleanup work extends beyond the tank waste to projects close to the Columbia River. If the matter goes to court, it could take a year just to get on the docket, Petersen said. He called going to court “a do-nothing option.” The Hanford Communities, a coalition of Tri-City area governments, has asked the governor to drop the demand for enough new storage tanks to hold 8 million gallons of waste at Hanford. The project would unnecessarily divert money in a limited cleanup budget from a plan to start treating Hanford’s tank waste as soon as possible, the coalition said in a letter to the governor this spring.
The consent decree was the result of a lawsuit filed by the state in 2008 over concerns that DOE could not meet key deadlines set in the Tri-Party Agreement, including starting to operate the vitrification plant in 2011. The lawsuit was resolved with the creation of the consent decree that set new deadlines and allowed for court enforcement of those deadlines.
