S-1268.1          _______________________________________________

                            SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8011

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Senators Thorsness, Jesernig, Patterson, Erwin and Metcalf.

Read first time February 12, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Energy & Utilities.Requesting that the United States Department of Energy maintain its commitment to the Tri-Party agreement.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY:

     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

     WHEREAS, The Hanford Reservation contains nuclear waste from several decades of nuclear defense operations; and

     WHEREAS, The United States Department of Energy (USDOE) has chosen to eliminate a materials production mission at Hanford; and

     WHEREAS, USDOE has repeatedly attempted to eliminate funding for and close the experimental and state-of-the-art research reactor known as the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF); and

     WHEREAS, The new mission for Hanford centers on being the "environmental flagship" for the USDOE; and

     WHEREAS, A key element of being the environmental flagship is the concept of technology transfer in which new technology developed to restore contaminated areas is transferred to the private sector for wider utilization; and

     WHEREAS, Vitrification of contaminated dirt is a promising example of technology transfer; and

     WHEREAS, The USDOE has recently proposed a delay in constructing the Hanford Vitrification Plant; and

     WHEREAS, This delay poses a potential threat to the Hanford Tri-Party agreement between USDOE, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Washington State Department of Ecology; and

     WHEREAS, A lawsuit stemming from this action would be time-consuming, costly, detrimental to state and federal cooperation, and possibly delay clean-up activities; and

     WHEREAS,  A recent report from the EPA and the Department of Ecology documented several case studies showing disparities in costs related to planning and characterization of waste clean-up activities at Hanford versus similar private sector examples; and

     WHEREAS, Recent reports from USDOE have indicated a lack of qualified and trained personnel specializing in nuclear waste cleanup professions;

     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the USDOE maintain its previous schedule with the Hanford Vitrification Plant, maintain its commitment to the Tri-Party agreement, continue operations and develop new missions at the FFTF, increase the cost-effectiveness of clean-up planning and waste characterization efforts, and provide incentives to allow for more local retraining programs for Hanford workers.

     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.