Cantwell, Wyden ask President Bush to fund Hanford clean up
SEATTLE, WA - Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to President Bush asking he adequately fund the Department of Energy's Environmental Management program in his fiscal year 2003 budget. The Environmental Management program is responsible for cleaning up nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, including the more than 53 million gallons of high-level nuclear waste stored in underground tanks on the Hanford site. Last year, Cantwell and Wyden, members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, fought successfully to restore funding levels sufficient to meet milestones in the Tri-Party Agreement, which were cut in the President's budget.
The text of the letter follows:
President George W. Bush The White House Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Bush:
As you prepare to submit your Fiscal Year 2003 budget to Congress, we write to encourage you to support adequate funding for the Department of Energy's Environmental Management (EM) program. The EM program supports safe treatment and disposal of some of our nation's most hazardous nuclear substances, including the more than 53 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste stored at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. While we understand the difficult budget issues now facing our nation, a timely clean-up remains essential to the quality of our water and environment, as well as our public safety. To fall behind is an unacceptable risk, and we believe adequate funding for FY2003 is crucial in maintaining the momentum behind clean-up efforts now afoot at sites such as Hanford.
As you will recall, your Administration last year requested $5.74 billion for DOE's defense EM programs. This figure marked a significant cut in the level of funding provided during the previous fiscal year, and jeopardized DOE's ability to meet milestones set forth in legally binding agreements between the federal government and states that are home to nuclear waste sites, including the TriParty Agreement (TPA) that governs the Hanford clean-up schedule.
In response to the Administration's inadequate request, Congress authorized an additional $1 billion for the DOE EM program in the FY2002 budget, and eventually appropriated a total of $6.48 billion, noting in Senate Appropriations Committee Report 107-39 that "the Department's budget request is not sufficient to satisfy both existing State-imposed legal requirements in place at several sites and maintain prompt and efficient cleanup at other sites not subject to requirements."
We understand that Energy Secretary Abraham has commissioned a "top-to-bottom review" of DOE's EM program, and as members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we look forward to examining the results when they are made public early this year. However, we do not believe cleanup activities should be delayed in the interim. It is our sincere hope that, unlike last year, the Administration's budget for FY2003 will be sufficient to meet the federal government's commitment to clean up our nation's nuclear waste sites in a fashion that is consistent with existing state and federal laws.
We want to join other members of the Senate's Nuclear Cleanup Caucus in suggesting that we must work collaboratively on this crucial environmental problem. Failing to do so would once again force Congress to manage the DOE EM program through the authorization and appropriation processes.
Thank you for your attention to this issue of such importance to the residents of the Pacific Northwest.
Sincerely,
[original signed] Maria Cantwell U.S. Senator
[original signed] Ron Wyden U.S. Senator
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