Bill Would Designate Part Of River Scenic

Federal protection of the Hanford reach of the Columbia River would safeguard salmon habitat and turn the area around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation into a tourist destination, Sen. Patty Murray said Wednesday.

A 50-mile stretch of the river would become a national wild and scenic river under a bill the Washington Democrat introduced in the Senate.

“It will bring the Tri-Cities a real degree of importance because a wild and scenic designation is something that will attract business,” Murray said in an interview.

“It is a quality-of-life issue. It would give Washington state a new tourist destination and restore key salmon-spawning habitat.”

The stretch of the Columbia has not faced development threats during the past 40 years because of security measures surrounding the sprawling nuclear reservation near Richland. Hanford’s mission has recently shifted from plutonium production to cleanup: It is the government’s most contaminated nuclear site.