Defining the framework for environmentally compliant cleanup: The Hanford site tri-party agreement

Technical Report · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:111726

Austin, B A ^[1]; Wisness, S H ^[2]

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1. Westinghouse Hanford Company, Richland, VA (United States)
2. Department of Energy, Richland, VA (United States)

The Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, commonly called the Tri-Party Agreement, was signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in May of 1989. It was the first three-party agreement of its magnitude in the country and was touted as a landmark agreement. It was one of the most significant actions that has been taken to define the framework for environmentally compliant cleanup actions at the Hanford Site. Accomplishments thus far represent a lot of planning, permitting, and development activities either required by regulation or necessary to ensure an adequate infrastructure to support cleanup activities. Actual cleanup work and construction of new facilities are beginning to accelerate as the Hanford Site moves out of study and development phases into actual cleanup activities. Significant changes to the Hanford Tri-Party Agreement were negotiated between May 1993 and January 1994. These negotiations were precipitated by the completion of a 15-month rebaselining study of the Hanford Site`s Tank Waste Remediation System. The revised agreement is based on comments and values the three agencies heard from people of the region during the negotiation process. The recent renegotiation reflected an ability of the agencies and the agreement to change commensurate with technical, economic, and political realities of today. Hanford has moved into a new era of public participation which will continue to watch and guide cleanup efforts in manners satisfactory to regional concerns and values.

• Research Organization: Arizona Univ., Tucson, AZ (United States). Coll. of Engineering and Mines; New Mexico State Univ., University Park, NM (United States); Waste-Management Education and Research Consortium (WERC), Las Cruces, NM (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 111726
• Report Number(s): CONF-940225--Vol.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
AGREEMENTS
ECOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
HANFORD RESERVATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
REMEDIAL ACTION