Hanford

Hanford board back in business after 3-month delay

By Annette Cary
The Hanford Advisory Board has met five times a year in recent years but had to cancel its September meeting because the Department of Energy had not taken appointed or reappointed members.
The Hanford Advisory Board has met five times a year in recent years but had to cancel its September meeting because the Department of Energy had not taken appointed or reappointed members. Courtesy DOE

The Hanford Advisory Board is back in business after the Department of Energy notified members on Tuesday that it had approved the board’s members.

DOE in Washington, D.C., failed to approve the appointment and reappointment of half the members and alternates on the board before they expired at the end of June.

The board no longer had a quorum and had to cancel its fifth and final meeting of fiscal 2017 and then was told to discontinue committee meetings and conference calls until the board was reconstituted.

Board leadership on Tuesday immediately scheduled a telephone meeting to plan work for the next few months, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The volunteer board considers Hanford nuclear reservation issues and then makes recommendations to DOE and its regulators, the Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Hanford board back in business after 3-month delay."

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