HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 HJM 4007

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                     Energy & Utilities

Brief Description:  Petitioning Congress and the Secretary of Energy to name the Hanford and Lands Ecology Reserve after Richard Fitzner and Les Eberhardt.

Sponsors:  Representatives Bray, Ludwig, Lisk, Grant, Mastin and Rayburn.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Energy & Utilities, February 11, 1993, DP.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY & UTILITIES

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 9 members:  Representatives Grant, Chair; Finkbeiner, Vice Chair; Casada, Ranking Minority Member; Miller, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Johanson; Kessler; Kremen; Long; and Ludwig.

Staff:  Ken Conte (786-7113).

Background:  The Hanford Arid Lands Ecology Reserve was established in 1967 as a buffer area and as a control for studies of the impacts that living in the contaminated areas of the Hanford Reservation has on native plants and animals.  The Ecology Reserve is made up of approximately 120 square miles on the Western border of the site between State Route 240 and Rattlesnake Ridge.

Dr. Les Eberhardt and Dr. Dick Fitzner were research scientists at Battelle. Both spent considerable time conducting wildlife studies on the Hanford Arid Lands Ecology Reserve.  Dr. Eberhardt and Dr. Fitzner lost their lives in a plane crash on June 3, 1992.

Summary of Bill:

The House of Representatives and the Senate petition the President, Congress and the Secretary of Energy to change the name of the Hanford Arid Lands Ecology Reserve to the Fitzner and Eberhardt Arid Lands Reserve.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Testimony For:  This memorial requests that the Hanford Arid Lands Ecology Reserve be renamed the Fitzner and Eberhardt Arid Lands Reserve.  Drs. Fitzner and Eberhardt were outstanding young environmental scientists who worked at Battelle and were affiliated with various institutions of higher education.  This memorial recognizes their contribution to science and the Arid Lands Reserve.  They would be extremely honored by this gesture.

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Rep. Bray, prime sponsor (pro); Lee Rogers, Pacific Northwest Labs (Pro); Lisa Fitzner (pro); and Lynn Eberhardt (pro).