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Annual state of site meeting, March 17, 2004 Paige Knight, Hanford Watch, Feb. 26, 2004 Hanford's annual State of the Site meetings will be held in March. This is an opportunity to hear the progress or lack thereof of the "cleanup" of Hanford. You will hear from the men in charge at the Office of River Protection (tank farms and vitrification plant at Hanford), at the Richland Office of Hanford (River corridor cleanup and more),and of the two regulators -- the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology. These are the people responsible for following and protecting the Tri-Party Agreement which is the legally binding agreement for the cleanup of the site. We wish that the State of Oregon was also one of the governing agencies but citizens and the State have not been given that status yet. The State of Oregon will make it's views known, however. This will be a discussion carried on among the public, agency officials, and a representative of the Hanford Advisory Board, which is composed of citizens throughout the region to advise the agencies on public views of what is acceptable cleanup. This is an opportunity to learn what is being accomplished and to ask questions about your concerns, such as the move by the Department of Energy to import to Hanford much of the nation's nuclear waste in the next few decades. The Portland State of the Site meeting will be held For more information call Washington Department of Ecology's toll free line (800-321-2008) or HANFORD WATCH 503-232-0848 |