SPOKANE, Wash. – The Washington Department of Ecology confirmed in a recent letter that 2,000 gallons of low-activity nuclear waste will pass through Spokane next year. This announcement has sparked concern among local officials, including the Spokane Mayor’s Office and City Council, both of which penned letters expressing their concerns.
This waste will originate from the Hanford site, near Tri-Cities, before traveling north into Spokane. It then heads back south to facilities in Utah and Texas. The Department of Energy, however, has not publicly revealed the complete route for the waste transport.
On Sept. 18, Mayor Lisa Brown, expressed her concerns in a letter to Governor Inslee, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy. In her letter, she warned that if this transport trial succeeds, it could lead to plans for shipping millions of gallons of hazardous liquid waste in the future.
In response, the Washington State Department of Ecology acknowledged the plans for waste transport next year, but said the assumption of extra liquid waste is premature, saying Brown was referring to a completely different project to remove 22 underground tanks from the Hanford site.
“(The other project) will start no earlier than 2028. This treated waste will be grouted (ed. note: turned into a solid), either at the Hanford Site or another location, and then ultimately disposed of offsite,” Washington Department of Ecology Director Laura Watson wrote. “The decision on where to grout and transportation routes for waste disposal falls under Energy’s authority. At this time, Energy has not made a decision on where to grout the waste from the 22 tanks, nor has Energy determined potential routes to transport the waste from Washington to disposal sites in Texas and/or Utah.”
Spokane City Council members echoed Brown’s concerns last week, penning their own letter. Councilmember Michael Cathcart did not join the group letter, choosing to send a personal letter due to even more pressing questions.
After hearing the Department of Ecology confirmed the waste would move through Spokane, Cathcart stated, “That they are going to move nuclear waste without even a single public hearing is incredibly disconcerting to me and should be concerning to everybody.”
Cathcart also invoked U.S. Code, highlighting requirements for local and federal governments to coordinate on environmental issues. He pointed out that the federal government might be in violation of Spokane’s city code designed to minimize residents’ exposure to nuclear waste.
Requests for interviews with the Washington Department of Ecology, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Mayor’s office were declined. The agencies referred to their response letter and fact sheet.
