Gov. Chris Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna asks court to enforce federal cleanup at Hanford

November 25, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good Morning. Thank you all for joining us.

Tomorrow, the state of Washington will file a lawsuit asking a federal court to impose and enforce a new schedule for cleaning up the Hanford site -- the most dangerous contaminated site in the country.

It�s hard to believe, but it�s been more than two decades since I started working on Hanford cleanup issues. And I was proud of our successful negotiation of the Hanford Tri-Party Agreement, which we signed here more than 19 years ago.

In that Agreement, the United States committed to a specific schedule to clean up this ticking, toxic time bomb. The agreement currently requires emptying all the single-shell underground tanks by 2018. The tank waste is Hanford�s most dangerous threat.
Fifty-three million gallons of highly radioactive waste are still cooking in 177 underground tanks at Hanford. And 67 of those tanks are confirmed leakers.

To clean up the tanks we still need to build a Waste Treatment Plant.

And when the cleanup agreement was originally signed, the federal government agreed to have the Treatment Plant operating by 1999.
Currently, the agreement requires that operations start in 2011. But the Energy Department has admitted this is not possible and now says operations will not begin before 2019.

Yes, we have made some progress. I know cleaning up Hanford is an incredibly difficult challenge. And I know that hard-working, dedicated and highly skilled people work hard every day to get the job done � and very importantly � done safely!

We have emptied seven tanks, and that is no small accomplishment. The Treatment Plant construction is 40 percent complete. We have successfully intercepted contaminated plumes of groundwater that previously were flowing into the Columbia.

But progress at Hanford has been far too slow, and that poses a terrible threat to the environment. In Washington state, we have been patient and we have been reasonable. Today, our patience has run out.

In the past three years, the situation has gotten much worse. Absent relief from a court, we now face not just years and not just decades � but centuries of delay.
The most recent budget proposed by President Bush puts us on pace to empty one tank per year. At that rate, it will take 140 years to empty the worst tanks.

That�s not only absurd. It�s unconscionable. The people of Washington cannot stand for that, and will not stand for that.
Hanford�s toxic legacy presents a very real threat to the people of the region. A million Pacific Northwest residents live downstream. The Columbia River runs through the site. The great river is the economic and environmental life blood of the Pacific Northwest.

I can�t help but think that if the toxic brew that threatens this region was buried 5 miles from the Potomac River instead of the Columbia, the United States would have made it a top budget priority decades ago.

Without any question � the federal government is legally and morally obligated to clean up the toxic legacy at Hanford. Work at Hanford helped us win WWII and made the world a safer place.

It is now abundantly clear that the federal courts are Washington state�s surest avenue to enforce the Tri-Party Agreement as well as state and federal environmental laws.

In a moment, Attorney General McKenna will describe some particulars of the suit.

But I want it completely understood that we didn�t arrive at this decision lightly.

When it became clear to us that the Department of Energy was falling further and further behind the current schedule for cleanup, we initiated high-level negotiations with Energy and EPA.

I personally met twice with Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, whom I greatly respect, during our negotiations. Our state stayed at the table for well over a year and a half.

Only when Attorney General McKenna and I agreed that the settlement terms insisted on by the U.S. could not lead to an effective and timely cleanup did we decide - together � that going to court was our only choice.

Nobody likes to solve problems with litigation, and I have to tell you that�s just one of many reasons I�m excited President Elect Barack Obama will soon take office.

I am looking forward to working with him and his Secretary of Energy on these issues. I believe there is a good chance that we can quickly end this litigation once he takes office, by agreeing to reasonable settlement terms.

With the help of our great Congressional delegation, especially Senator Murray, who has been a great leader on Hanford issues, and with a partner in the White House, I am hopeful that we can shift our focus from litigation to cleanup.

Now I want to turn the podium over to Attorney General McKenna. I thank him and his team for their leadership on this difficult issue. We have done our best, working together, to protect the interests of our citizens.