2007 budget would revive funds for Hanford Cleanup
Hanford's vitrification plant would receive full funding for fiscal year 2007 under the budget proposal the White House gave to Congress on Monday.
Hanford was one of the few Department of Energy nuclear cleanup sites nationwide to see an increase in its proposed budget. But with the restoration of the budget for the vitrification plant construction, funding for other work to protect the Columbia River was cut.
The proposed budget would spend $1.88 billion on cleanup and security at the Hanford nuclear reservation in fiscal year 2007. That's up from $1.75 billion this year, but less than the $2.09 billion spent in fiscal year 2005, the peak funding year to date for Hanford.
"Overall this budget is far better than last year's plan," said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., in a statement. "It's a bit of a relief."
But he and others still had questions about proposed cuts to individual programs at Hanford, including less money for contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group's work at the tank farms. The Plutonium Finishing Plant also would receive a substantial reduction in funding.
Among programs that fared well was cleanup along the Columbia River, which would receive 25 percent more money.
Before the proposed budget was released Monday, Gov. Chris Gregoire and Hastings had pushed for funding to be restored at the vitrification plant to $690 million. Because of a reduced budget this year and other problems at the Waste Treatment Plant, construction has slowed, and about 1,700 workers have lost their jobs.
The plant is needed to turn the most radioactive waste held in Hanford's underground tanks into stable glass logs for permanent disposal. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium at Hanford for the nation's nuclear weapons program.
"An increase in funding for the Waste Treatment Plant back to $690 million is a positive step," said Jay Manning, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology, in a statement.
"But we have grave concerns about the president's proposal for a substantial reduction in funding for other aspects of the Hanford cleanup, including the important work that is currently under way to remove radioactive waste from the underground tanks," he said.
Continue reading this story from the Tri-City Hearld:
2007 budget would revive funds for Hanford Cleanup
