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Federal economic stimulus money could go further than expected at Hanford, but it's early to start planning additional projects that might be tackled at the nuclear reservation, said Ines Triay, Department of Energy assistant secretary for environmental management.
She met with the Hanford Advisory Board in Richland on Thursday morning, taking questions on Hanford and hearing comments on what board members want considered as a new manager for the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office is picked.
Hanford received $1.96 billion in federal economic stimulus money for environmental cleanup at Hanford through September 2011.
Some projects are ahead of schedule and DOE has not encountered some risks that were anticipated, said Doug Shoop, deputy manager of the Richland Operations Office. Work includes tearing down contaminated buildings, expanding the landfill for low-level radioactive waste, digging up waste sites, drilling wells to help clean up ground water and removing glove boxes from the Plutonium Finishing Plant.
However, Triay said she'll wait until work is done to see how much money remains before committing to additional work at Hanford. Prioritization of additional projects will be done much as the original pick of projects was and will be done with "complete transparency," she said.
She also talked briefly about the workers hired for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act work at Hanford. The equivalent of 2,900 full-time jobs have been created at Hanford with economic investment funds, counting Hanford contractor and subcontractor jobs, according to DOE.
At the very least, DOE will help workers find new jobs, using the new skills and training they have, when the money is gone, she said.
"They are trained to be very competitive," she said.
But DOE is looking at all options, she said.
"We will work tirelessly to make sure the worker transition is as successful as the recovery act," she said.
More information about what could happen at Hanford could be available in six to 12 months, Shoop said. Early retirement incentives are one possibility that could be discussed, but how that would affect the pension program has to be considered, he said.
Much of the board's discussion with Triay centered on replacing Dave Brockman, who is retiring in January as one of Hanford's two top DOE managers. Several board members praised Brockman and said they would like him to stay on, but Triay said Brockman had been upfront with her when he took the job in summer 2007 as the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office manager that he planned to retire in early 2011.
"I'm very sad to see him leave," said Dirk Dunning, who represents the Oregon Department of Energy on the board.
"Hanford is, if nothing else, a huge chemical engineering project," he said. The position should be filled with someone who has upper-level management experience and also a technical background, he said.
Brockman and Hanford's other top DOE manager, Shirley Olinger, have worked well with the public, said Rob Davis, who represents Pasco on the board. That's an important skill in Brockman's replacement, he said.
John Stanfill, who represents the Nez Perce on the board, praised Brockman for going out of his way to work with the tribes, and asked Triay to find a replacement with a similar approach.
The board is drafting a list of attributes that would be pluses, starting with genuinely caring about Hanford employees and their safety. The list also includes a willingness to spend time in the field to observe work firsthand, encouraging integration among Hanford's contractors, the ability to hold contractors accountable and valuing transparency in government.
-- Annette Cary: 582-1533; acary@tricityherald.com.
