RICHLAND, WA – On Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was joined by local and state officials to discuss how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will accelerate clean up efforts at Hanford, move the community toward a clean energy future, and create up to 12,400 local jobs. 

 

“Just last week, I was named Chair of the Energy Subcommittee in the Senate, and I will be working even more closely with the new Energy Secretary to make sure Hanford cleanup is prioritized so we can more rapidly protect the environment and create highly skilled jobs while taking urgent steps to transition our communities to a cleaner energy economy,” said Cantwell. “Making sure Hanford and nuclear site cleanup was part of the Recovery Package is more than just about meeting our long-term legal and moral obligations to clean up Hanford; it’s also about creating jobs right now. This funding will allow accelerated cleanup, shrinking the footprint of the contaminated areas at Hanford from 586 square miles today to 75 square miles by 2015. This will save taxpayers an estimated $750 million in future cleanup costs, while allowing the Department of Energy planning to more rapidly pursue its plans to convert contaminated areas into a Clean Energy Park."

 

Cantwell worked with Senator Patty Murray and other members of the Washington delegation to ensure funding for clean up of the nation’s defense nuclear waste sites was included in the Recovery Act. Hanford is expected to receive $2 billion for cleanup efforts and shrink the footprint of contaminated areas from 586 square miles today to 75 square miles by 2015. With this reduced footprint, contaminated areas will more quickly be returned to productive industrial use where the Department of Energy is examining the creation of a Clean Energy Park.

 

In her new role as Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy, Cantwell continues to discuss with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu the need for a reinvestment in the moral and legal obligation to clean up Hanford. 

 

“The Stimulus Package increased funding for Hanford Cleanup which will lead to very large areas of Hanford being made available for possible Energy Park/Green Energy to be located at Hanford.   Senator Cantwell, in her new position as Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Energy Subcommittee, is perfectly positioned to lend support to the Tri-Cities in developing new clean energy concepts and locating them at Hanford,” said Gary Petersen, Vice President of Hanford Programs, TRIDEC. “Her leadership in this new green energy development will benefit the Tri-Cities and the State for many years to come.”

 

 

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