More funding sought to clean up Hanford nuclear site by Newhouse, Wash. colleagues

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and his home-state colleagues last week made a bipartisan, bicameral request that the budget be increased for the federal office handling the cleanup at the Hanford site, a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States government on the Columbia River in Benton County, Wash.

The Washington State congressional delegation specifically asked President Joe Biden to increase the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget and beyond for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Environmental Management to ensure the ongoing Hanford site cleanup, according to their Oct. 27 letter sent to the president.

“This is a top priority for our constituents, the State of Washington, the communities surrounding DOE’s Hanford site, and regional tribes,” wrote Rep. Newhouse and his 11 colleagues, who included U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA). “We are proud to work in concert and ensure that Hanford has the resources it needs to address current projects and plan for emerging needs in the future.”

Rep. Newhouse and his colleagues pointed out that this year’s launch of the Tank Side Cesium Removal system marks the start of an important milestone in cleanup at the site —  this is the first step in turning low-level waste into glass.

“As design, engineering, and construction of the high-level waste facility is added to the mission scope, it is imperative that your FY24 budget request reflects not only the necessary resources for this critical phase of Hanford cleanup operations, but also the need for continued adequate funding… for subsequent fiscal years,” the lawmakers wrote. 

In their letter, the lawmakers also urged President Biden to support an increased budget for the entire DOE’s Office of Environmental Management program to reflect the needs that continue to exist not only at Hanford, but at other sites across the country.