(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement after the Obama Administration released its funding proposal for cleanup of nuclear waste at the Hanford site for fiscal year 2017, showing a cut of $289 million. The decrease disproportionally affects Richland Operations, which has more work to do on several high-risk cleanup projects with legally binding milestones.
“The federal government has a moral and legal obligation to clean up Hanford, which is why I find this funding proposal both inadequate and shortsighted,” Senator Murray said. “As every member of the Hanford community already knows, it is absolutely critical that work continues on schedule and in a safe, efficient manner, so I will continue to make it clear to both the Administration and my colleagues in the House and the Senate that the federal government cannot shirk its obligation on Hanford cleanup.”
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray is the leading advocate for federal funding for Hanford cleanup work. Senator Murray plans to question Department of Energy officials at a scheduled hearing next month on how the Administration’s proposed budget for 2017 will allow the federal government to meet its cleanup milestones at Hanford and other cleanup sites across the country.
Below are the 2017 funding levels for Hanford cleanup work proposed by the Obama Administration:
$2.048 billion for Hanford cleanup, a $289 million cut from fiscal year 2016.
· $1.412 billion for Office of River Protection, $2 million less than fiscal year 2016 funding
- $646 million for tank farm activities
- $693 million for the Waste Treatment Plant
- $73 million for low activity waste pretreatment plant
- $636 million for Richland Operations, $287 million less than fiscal year 2016 funding
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