10.16.03

Sen. Maria Cantwell Tells Department of Energy to Pay Up Money Owed to WA State

Cantwell demands quick action on $7 million debt in letter to Secretary of Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today requesting the immediate payment of an outstanding debt owed to Washington state. The Department of Energy owes the state nearly $7 million as a payment equal to taxes that could have been imposed when the Hanford Reservation was being considered for the national High Level Nuclear Waste Repository site.

"This money belongs to the people of Washington state," said Cantwell. "After ten years of dragging its feet, the Department of Energy needs to pay up. It needs to fulfill its obligation to Washington taxpayers."

In 1986 the DOE's Hanford Reservation was chosen as one of three final candidates for the nuclear waste repository. The department eventually ruled out Hanford, deciding instead on Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires that the DOE pay the equivalent of state taxes for activities carried out during the consideration of a potential repository site. While the department made a partial payment, it disputed nearly $7 million that it owed the state under the law.

Washington state filed a claim for the funds in 1993 and has won every hearing on the issue, including two this summer with the DOE's Office of Hearing and Appeals. The DOE continues to stall on making payments to Washington state.

Cantwell's letter (text below) to Secretary Abraham requests immediate payment of the debt and an explanation for its delay. Cantwell is a member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

October 15, 2003

The Honorable Spencer Abraham Secretary United States Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20585

Dear Secretary Abraham,

I am writing with regards to an outstanding payment owed by the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (RW) to the State of Washington. Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, those states with sites that were considered as candidates for the national High Level Nuclear Waste Repository are entitled to grant payments equivalent to taxes that would have been paid had the site characterization activities at those sites been performed by private, tax-paying entities rather than the Government.

The Hanford Site in eastern Washington state – specifically, the Basalt Waste Isolation Project and Near Surface Test Facility (BWIP) – was one of the locations considered for the repository. After it was ruled out, and site characterization activities ceased, the State of Washington filed Payments Equal to Taxes (PETT) claim with DoE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (RW) in 1993. For ten years, RW has denied responsibility for paying Washington's Business and Occupation Tax (B&O tax) for activities carried out at the Hanford Reservation.

On June 25, 2002, and again on July 16, 2003, the Department's own Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) examined the issue and ruled in Washington state's favor. In its most recent ruling, OHA directed RW to "update the interest calculation to determine the final amount of Washington's PETT grant as of September 1, 2003, and to pay that amount to the State without further delay." In accordance with this ruling, RW owes Washington state approximately $6.8 million.

As of today, October 3, the Department of Energy has yet to remit a payment to Washington. I would like to know 1) why the Department has yet to pay the state the money it is owed and 2) when the Department will make the payment.

I appreciate your prompt consideration of this matter and I await your reply.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell United States Senator