02.12.02

Senator Cantwell's Opening Statement (as prepared) before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Requests for the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy and the Forest Service

Thank you, Chairman Bingaman.

I'd like to focus my opening remarks this morning on clean-up at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

As you know, the Administration's budget calls for a $262 million cut in Hanford cleanup funding at a time when the amount of radioactive waste at Hanford is greater than on any other Department of Energy site.

When Hanford was an active nuclear weapons plant-providing vital support to this nation during World War II and the Cold War-about 450 billion gallons of radioactively contaminated water was dumped directly into the ground.

Today, Hanford stores 54 million gallons of dangerous high-level radioactive waste in 177 massive underground storage tanks, 149 of which are 30 years past their design life, and about 67 of which have leaked at least one million gallons of waste into soil a mere 7 miles from our region's lifeline, the Columbia River.

There are now wells located along the Columbia River shoreline that register Strontium 90 levels that are 1,600 times the Federal Drinking Water Standard.

A timely cleanup at Hanford is essential to the quality of the Northwest's water and environment, as well as our public safety.

This cleanup is the purpose of the TriParty Agreement-a legally-binding document and consent order that binds DOE to clean up Hanford, in compliance with state and federal environmental laws.

To fall behind in Hanford cleanup is not only a violation of the TriParty Agreement, it is an unacceptable risk to the people of Washington.

Nonetheless, the Administration now proposes to a 20% cut of nearly $262 million in funding for Hanford cleanup.

As many of my colleagues are aware, the Administration has said there may be room to restore funding to these programs.

The President's budget includes in its request an additional $800 million to initiate "alternative approaches" to clean up, engaging states in a renegotiation of their priorities.

However, this Administration and DOE must realize-first and foremost-that forcing us to compete with other sites for the money necessary to comply with the TriParty Agreement does not only violate the agreement itself, it breaks the federal government's moral contract with the people of Washington state to clean up this dangerous waste.

It is the federal government's obligation to live up to the TriParty Agreement, while the people of Washington are not obligated-in fact, we refuse-to sacrifice environmental quality in order to ensure that we secure the money needed to continue our progress at Hanford in the short term.

Mr. Chairman, I believe this is an extremely important area for this Committee to further explore. With the issuance of DOE's top-to-bottom review, I believe now is an opportune time to hold an oversight hearing on the Environmental Management program's new direction.

Despite what is certain to be a hectic schedule, I hope we can hold such a hearing in the next month or two, before the Senate will be forced to make important funding decisions during the budget and appropriations process.

Again, thank you for holding this important hearing.

I look forward to hearing the testimony of today's panelists.