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RICHLAND The fiscal 2011 budget for the Hanford nuclear reservation would increase at least $22 million from the current year's budget to about $2.1 billion under the Obama administration's proposal released Monday.
That money would be in addition to $1.96 billion in federal economic stimulus money being spent on Hanford cleanup from spring 2009 through fiscal 2011.
In early budget talks, the administration had considered cutting the budget for environmental cleanup of nuclear weapons sites such as Hanford by 20 percent, or about $1 billion, nationwide.
But the Washington congressional delegation stepped up to get funding restored in the proposed budget, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., personally visiting the White House to discuss her concerns, said Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs at the Tri-City Development Council.
"In a very difficult budget year, this Hanford budget keeps cleanup on track and workers on the job," Murray said in a statement. "It is a recognition by the Obama administration that Hanford cleanup is vital not only to environmental cleanup but also to economic recovery."
The focus of the increased spending would be Hanford's vitrification plant and its tank farms.
The vitrification plant, which would treat some of Hanford's worst wastes for disposal, would receive $740 million. That would be up from the $690 million on which the Department of Energy has based long-range construction planning. Some years the plant has failed to receive the full $690 million.
At the tank farms, where 53 million gallons of radioactive waste is managed and work is continuing to empty leak-prone single shell tanks, the budget would increase from $408 million to $418 million.
The budget for programs under the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office, which handles all other environmental cleanup at Hanford, would decrease from $1.08 billion to $1.04 billion.
However, that office is receiving most of the federal economic stimulus money being sent to Hanford.
The Richland Operations Office continues to be "well-funded" under the proposal, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement. She said budget increases proposed for the DOE Hanford Office of River Protection vitrification plant and tank farms would pay for critical work.
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., had warned there would be a temptation to cut annual Hanford budgets because of the nearly $2 billion being spent at Hanford in federal economic stimulus money.
"In terms of Hanford cleanup, this request is a marked improvement over where this administration started last year," Hastings said in a statement. "Overall, this budget is a positive step in the right direction at Hanford."
The administration sends its requested budget to Congress, which debates and sets the appropriation that will determine the final fiscal 2011 budget for Hanford.
The proposed $50 million increase for the vitrification plant would be used to speed up the design and engineering work for the plant, with a goal of increasing confidence in the project that's been under construction for years. It also would cover the purchase of some items that will help drive the final design of the plant.
The additional $10 million at the tank farms would be used for planning and work to prepare for the closure of the 16 C Farm tanks after they have been emptied of radioactive waste.
At the Richland Operations Office, the cut in funding ranges from $22 million to $38 million, based on whether certain programs such as security and the Fast Flux Test Facility are included in the tally. If only defense-related cleanup is included, the overall budget increase for all of Hanford would be as large as $39 million.
Some of the decreases in the proposed budget for the Richland Operations Office work, which includes cleanup in central Hanford and along the Columbia River, are due to progress being made.
For instance, plutonium left at Hanford at the end of the Cold War has now been shipped offsite. The amount proposed for security at Hanford also has decreased by about $13 million.
Other decreases would be in programs that are receiving substantial amounts of economic stimulus money.
The reason for the largest proposed decrease in spending, $75 million to clean up contaminated ground water and protect ground water, was not clear Monday, although economic stimulus money is being spent to clean up and protect ground water.
"I have questions about the potential impact of this request on ground water cleanup at Hanford, and I look forward to receiving more details about these activities," Hastings said.
Among the Richland Operations Office projects that would receive increases is cleanup work along the Columbia River. The budget for that work would increase from $328 million to $386 million.
* Annette Cary: 509-582-1533; acary@tricityherald.com; More Hanford news at hanfordnews.com.
