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Monday, April 18, 2005
Hanford Cleanup: A federal obligation
Good intentions won't clean up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Removing a horrendous amount of atomic trash requires real money.
The Bush administration talks a reasonably good game, at least when it isn't trying to rewrite regulations to weaken the federal cleanup commitment. But its budget proposals for Hanford and other nuclear waste sites fail when it counts most.
Granted, the mismanagement that led to soaring budget deficits requires prudence in fiscal matters. And the administration and its predecessors have put a lot of effort into dealing with waste, especially at Hanford.
But the administration's proposals to cut a quarter-billion dollars from Hanford's cleanup in fiscal year 2006 show a dangerous amount of complacency about the serious environmental problems there. And, as the Tri-City Herald recently reported, Washington state officials are worried that cuts envisioned for the following year will lead to breaking federal commitments to meet legal deadlines for work.
That's wrong when the cleanup is so far from done. Hanford's problems are the result of its role in supporting national security, which merits extra attention of the needs there. Plus, the loss of skilled, experienced people could make it harder to gear up again.
Adding to the difficulties, both the EPA and a recent inspector general's report have questioned the Energy Department's cleanup priorities. The federal government needs to spend more and do so wisely to meet its obligations at Hanford.
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| Can America afford to scale back spending on the clean-up of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation? | |
 17.6%Yes. The budget and other needs require cuts |
81.0% No. The feds must clean up the mess they made |
| 1.4% Don't know or not sure |
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| Total Votes: 142 | |
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