Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board to meet January 13-14
SALEM — The Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board will meet January 13-14 at the Best Western Plus hotel(1108 East Marina Way) in Hood River. For the last 24 years, Hanford has been the site of the world’s largest environmental cleanup program, the result of wastes created during the production of plutonium for America’s nuclear weapons program. Cleanup will continue for at least the next several decades. Among the items on the agenda, the Board will hear updates from the U.S. Department of Energy on issues associated with Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant and other high-level waste-related issues (Monday), and on the cleanup of Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (Tuesday).
The public will have an opportunity to comment to the Board each day. A link to the meeting agenda is on the Oregon Department of Energy’s website atwww.oregon.gov/energy/nucsaf/hcb/docs/OHCB_agenda_January_2014.pdf.
The Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board provides policy advice to Oregon’s Governor and legislature on a wide range of issues regarding cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site in southeast Washington, just north of Oregon’s border. Part of the Board’s mission is to protect the Columbia River and Oregon from possible contamination.
The Board is composed of citizens, a representative of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, a representative of the Governor, state agency representatives and state legislators. The Energy Department serves as staff to the Board.
For more information about the meeting, please contact the department at 503-378-4040, toll-free in Oregon at 1-800-221-8035, or visit the website at www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/NUCSAF.
To request an interpreter for the hearing impaired, or accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact ODOE at least 72 hours before the meeting at 1-800-221-8035 or fax 503-373-7806. TTY users should call the Oregon Relay Service at 711.
CONTACT: Ken Niles, 503-378-4906 In Oregon, 1-800-221-8035
About the Oregon Department of Energy: The Oregon Department of Energy reduces the long-term costs of energy for Oregonians. It provides tax credits, grants, loans, technical assistance and energy information for homeowners, businesses, manufacturers, farms, ranches, schools and governments.
About ODOE’s Nuclear Safety and Energy Emergency Preparedness Division: Division staff provide oversight of the environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear site – the largest such cleanup in the world. Division staff is also responsible for emergency preparedness for a nuclear reactor accident; ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials through Oregon; petroleum contingency planning; and emergency preparedness for operation of a liquefied natural gas export terminal. Staff also provide technical and administrative support to the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board.