72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
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 LC 2513
 
                        Senate Memorial 1
 
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON WATER AND LAND USE
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Urges Congress to fund completely and to expedite cleanup
efforts at Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
 
                         SENATE MEMORIAL
To the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United
  States of America, in Congress assembled:
  We, your memorialists, the Senate of the State of Oregon, in
legislative session assembled, respectfully represent as follows:
  Whereas the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the most
contaminated site in North America; and
  Whereas radioactive and chemical wastes stored at the Hanford
Nuclear Reservation pose a significant threat to the Columbia
River and to the health and welfare of Oregonians; and
  Whereas many of the storage facilities at the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation are leaking substances into the groundwater and
ultimately into the Columbia River because of the design and age
of these facilities; and
  Whereas the leakage of substances into the groundwater and
Columbia River presents a threat to human health and to sensitive
species in the Columbia River, including endangered salmon; and
  Whereas the environmental cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation is a top priority for Oregonians; and
  Whereas the United States Department of Energy has not
consistently provided timely budget information on cleanup
measures to be funded at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, nor has
the department provided information on whether legal cleanup
milestones will be met; and
  Whereas progress toward the safe storage of radioactive and
chemical wastes has occurred at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation
through the use of a pump and treat technology, the removal of
spent fuel rods from basins near the Columbia River and the
stabilization of plutonium wastes; and
  Whereas the United States Department of Energy is developing a
treatment process, known as vitrification, that would place
radioactive and chemical wastes in stable form; and
  Whereas development of the vitrification process and
construction of a vitrification plant must be top priorities and
must not delay other cleanup and waste management projects; and
  Whereas the State of Oregon is seeking standing under the
Hanford tri-party agreement to affect decisions by the United
States Department of Energy, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and the State of Washington regarding waste
management at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; and
  Whereas the State of Oregon is seeking standing to litigate and
enforce compliance with the Hanford tri-party agreement; now,
therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Oregon:
  (1) The Congress of the United States is respectfully urged to:
  (a) Fund, completely, the cleanup effort at the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation, including the construction of a vitrification plant
and other existing cleanup and waste management efforts, to the
extent necessary to ensure the safety and health of Oregonians.
  (b) Expedite cleanup of contaminated groundwater that threatens
to harm the Columbia River, the species that rely on the river or
the people who live downstream from the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation.
  (c) Accelerate cleanup efforts that maximize financial
resources by reducing long-term management costs.
  (d) Work closely with officials and residents in the Pacific
Northwest to ensure success of cleanup and waste management
efforts.
  (e) Provide the State of Oregon with a decision-making role in
matters affecting the handling, storage and cleanup of
radioactive and chemical wastes at the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation, including a role in the Hanford tri-party agreement
or any successor thereto.
  (2) A copy of this memorial shall be sent to each member of the
Oregon Congressional Delegation and the Washington Congressional
Delegation, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Energy and the Administrator of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
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