Settlement reach for leaking tanks at Hanford
By Terry Murry on Friday, May 12th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
RICHLAND, Washington – Work to respond to actively leaking tanks and future tank leaks at the Hanford Site will continue as planned following a settlement agreement filed with Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board this week.
Heart of America Northwest, a nonprofit group, had challenged an order between the Washington State Department of Ecology and U.S. Department of Energy on the tank leak response the agencies announced last August. The document outlined a path for responding to leaks in tanks B-109 and T-111 and created plans on how to respond to any potential future single-shell tank leaks.
According to the state, the settlement with Heart of America does not amend the agreed order, but instead provides clarity on the order’s requirements. It also requires the USDE to obtain a third-party expert review from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of a key technical evaluation included in the order. The technical evaluation under the order requires the Department of Energy to explore ways to accelerate the schedule to remove waste from undergrounds tanks T-111 and B-109.
The USDE will hold a technical workshop on this evaluation with experts from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for a third-party review and include an expert chosen by Heart of America Northwest.
File photo is a look inside of the B-109 tank taken in 2021.
