Easing Of N-Cleanup Laws Posed

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., urged Congress Thursday to ease the laws regulating cleanup of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation, saying quicker action is needed to combat health and safety threats.

“Because many of the wastes are even now eating away at their storage containers, we must address these problems as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Hastings said.

“Unfortunately, the cleanup to date has been plagued by over regulation, bureaucratic delay and an explosion in costs,” he said in testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water.

Hastings said he would introduce a bill within the next two weeks that would expedite cleanup while still protecting workers’ health.

“We must streamline the cleanup process,” he said. “There is too much red tape and too much bureaucracy and too much overhead at Hanford.

Hastings said his bill would “eliminate duplicative environmental assessments” necessary when both the National Environmental Policy Act and Superfund laws apply to the same site.

It also would eliminate duplicative jurisdiction of the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Safety and Health, and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Under the tentative proposal, President Clinton would have 30 days to decide which agency would oversee the site.