SENATE BILL REPORT

                  HJM 4030

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

                Ecology & Parks, March 30, 1995

Brief Description:  Concerning federal funds for the cleanup of the Hanford waste disposal site.

Sponsors:  Representatives Hankins, Honeyford, Delvin, Grant and Kessler.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Ecology & Parks:  3/22/95, 3/30/95 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON ECOLOGY & PARKS

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators Fraser, Chair; C. Anderson, Vice Chair; McAuliffe, McDonald, Spanel and Swecker.

Staff:  David Danner (786-7784)

Background:  Two thirds of the volume of nuclear waste in the United States is stored at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hanford Site in Central Washington.  In 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Ecology entered into the "Tri-Party Agreement," a 30-year plan to clean up nuclear contamination at the Hanford site.    

DOE has already spent millions for environmental cleanup at Hanford.  The U.S. General Accounting Office has noted that a significant portion of cleanup funds expended to date have been spent on administrative costs, legal fees, or regulatory compliance activities. 

DOE has proposed to reduce cleanup funds available for Hanford.  However, it has proposed no corresponding reduction in regulatory obligations.  The federal government has announced that 4,500 jobs will be eliminated as a result of DOE's proposed funding cuts.

Summary of Amended Bill:  The federal government is asked to work with state and local officials in Washington State to eliminate duplicative orders, streamline paperwork, and otherwise reduce unnecessary costs so that adequate funding is available for environmental cleanup.

The federal government is further asked to begin immediately to construct facilities necessary to implement Hanford cleanup, and to maintain its commitment to all key milestones of the Tri-Party Agreement.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill:  Certain nonspecific references to regulatory burdens are removed.  Language is added asking Congress to construct cleanup facilities and maintain its commitment to the Tri-Party Agreement.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Testimony For:  None.

Testimony Against:  While the intent of the memorial is good, language should not imply that local laws are a cause of delays in implementation.

Testified:  Betty Tabbutt, League of Women Voters; Gerald Pallett, Heart of America (con).