Jane Hedges, Manager, Nuclear Waste Program Washington Department of Ecology

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1 Jane Hedges, Manager, Nuclear Waste Program Washington Department of Ecology National Conference of State Legislatures June 20, 2012

2 586-square-mile site 2,400 waste management units/areas of concern ~72 square miles of groundwater contaminated above drinking water standards 177 high-level waste tanks buried underground 9 plutonium production nuclear reactors 6 canyon processing buildings 1 sodium-cooled test nuclear reactors 72 radioactive landfills 43 miles of landfill trenches (remaining)

3 Hanford historical timeline 1940s Building Hanford Weapons Production Present Cleanup 1990s Decommissioning

4 Ecology s role at Hanford Keeping people and the environment safe from the dangers of mixed radioactive and chemically hazardous waste by overseeing the U.S. Department of Energy s Hanford cleanup activities.

5 TPA & regulatory oversight The Tri-Party Agreement was signed in 1989 between Washington, USDOE & EPA. The agreement provides the legal framework for Hanford Site cleanup and schedules. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) and Washington State s Hazardous Waste Management Act govern the management (treatment, storage, and disposal) of hazardous and dangerous wastes to minimize threat to human health and the environment. A state permit issued by Ecology outlines general conditions for the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous wastes at the site.

6 Washington s cleanup priorities Continue progress on groundwater cleanup & protection of Columbia River Support tank retrievals & construction/design of the Waste Treatment Plant Continue soil cleanup on Columbia River corridor Complete Plutonium Finishing Plant demolition work Protecting Washington s air, land, and water is part of Ecology s core mission.

7 Cleanup timelines Tanks/Waste Treatment Plant* 2019: Complete WTP construction (now 60% done) 2022: Initiate WTP operations 2040: Retrieve all single-shell tanks 2047: Treat all tank waste Groundwater 2024: Complete all groundwater remediation along the Columbia River corridor *New deadlines recently negotiated in 2010 consent decree

8 Cleanup progress Hanford received nearly $2 billion in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in (Funding ended 9/30/11) Ecology credits USDOE and its contractors for having projects ready to go and making good use of the funds Significant progress was made in areas of groundwater treatment facility construction, Plutonium Finishing Plant deactivation and decontamination, and tank farm infrastructure upgrades Ecology is working closely with the USDOE and EPA to prioritize projects so progress continues Washington has strong support of Congressional delegation for continued cleanup funding

9 ARRA Accomplishments Richland Office Reduced the cleanup footprint 66% (385 square miles) Completed 3 major groundwater treatment systems Installed 303 groundwater wells and decommissioned 280 old wells and boreholes Demolished 76 facilities Retrieved 2, 602 cubic meters of Transuranic waste from underground storage and shipped 2,121 cubic meters for treatment Remediated 73 waste sites Built 2 major super cells for the landfill disposal facility Removed 130 high hazard radioactive glove boxes from the highest risk building on Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant

10 ARRA Accomplishments Office of River Protection Completed $326M worth of Tank Farm Project Upgrades Met all 70+ Recovery Act contract milestones 200,446 cubic feet of waste removed from the Tank Farms Accelerated $68M of Waste Feed Delivery Projects in support of early start up of the Waste Treatment Plant Completed Technology Development objectives Base Operation efficiencies and cost reductions realized 242-A Evaporator, 222-S Laboratory; and within Tanks Farms

11 Progress Groundwater remediation Progress made over past 20+ years has been Tri-Party team effort. Goal: Treat 3,200 gpm Additional treatment capacity (up to 6,000 gpm) 1989: TPA signed Stop liquid discharges 2009: Tri-Parties signed Gov. Gregoire s initiative to accelerate GW cleanup to offset other delays 1994: Regulators, stakeholders, and tribal nations develop a sitewide strategy Period of stagnancy due to focus on Columbia River corridor soil cleanup Acceleration of ongoing system : Stimulus funding : Stop chromium and strontium from entering the Columbia River 2024: Complete all river corridor GW remediation 2015: Full-scale implementation

12 Status Hanford tank waste Retrieving and treating this waste is Hanford s greatest challenge. Volume and Curies 177 tanks 28 double shell and 149 single shell (~67 leaked) 53 million gallons of mixed high-level waste Approximately 195 million curies 190,000 tons of chemicals hazardous waste 8 of 149 single-shell tanks retrieved West Valley 1% Managed as mixed high-level waste, regulated under Dangerous Waste/RCRA Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) under construction 0.5 million gal. Hanford 59% 53 million gal. Idaho 3% 3 million gal. Savannah River 37% 34 million gal.

13 USDOE 2012 & 2013 Budget Proposed Budgets Office of River Protection (Tank Farms) Office of River Protection (WTP) Richland Office 2012 Appropriation $445 Million $ 740Million $1,022 Million Hanford DOE Requested 2013 (compliant) House Proposed 2013 $ Million $ 970 Million $ 1,429.5 Million $473 Million $ 690 Million $953.2 Million

14 Cleanup budget concerns Federal government s Continuing Resolution and lower FY2012 budget is affecting cleanup schedules Tri-Party Agencies agree to revise TPA to change eight deadlines, which delays some work in central Hanford, but still maintained major milestone final dates. Now considering additional delays Governor was informed November 21, 2011 that due to funding and technical concerns USDOE would likely not be able to meet Consent Decree milestones established in October 2010 for the Waste Treatment Plant for technical and budget reasons First Lifecycle Scope, Schedule & Cost report released in August finds it will take another $115 billion to finish Hanford cleanup through 2090

15 Delays to the Waste Treatment Plant Completion and Startup USDOE indicates with the expected appropriations they can t maintain the schedule. Optimal funding of $840M in 2012 increasing to $960M in 2014 maintains the CD schedule. Well known technical issues need to be resolved for completion; State believes these can be resolved or other options can be used to allow the project to continue. Proposal would slow down or stop construction on the pretreatment facility which would in turn delay startup up from 2 to 5 years

16 State Budget and Ecology s Work on Hanford Two primary sources of USDOE funding for our work: Mixed Waste Fees pay for our Hazardous Waste Act work overseeing mixed radioactive and chemical contamination Federal Grant pays for soils, groundwater and building demolition oversight work. These and other fee-supported funds cover ~99% of Hanford oversight Only state funds used for Hanford oversight are State Toxic s Account funding used for litigation Yucca Mountain High Level Waste Disposal and Natural Resources Damage Assessment.

17 Questions?