Department hopes to work off Hanford fine

RICHLAND – The U.S. Department of Energy is reviewing ways to work off a $1.14 million fine for problems at a radioactive waste landfill at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency levied the fine over operations at Hanford’s Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, a landfill that is the primary repository for contaminated soils, debris and other hazardous and radioactive waste from cleanup operations across the site.

It was the largest fine ever levied by the EPA’s Northwest office at Hanford.

EPA gave the Energy Department the option of proposing an environmental project, in addition to work already being done to clean up the highly contaminated Hanford site, in lieu of paying all or part of the fine.

The Energy Department would like to do a supplemental project but still needs to work out the details and ensure it would not take management attention or resources away from Hanford cleanup, spokeswoman Colleen French told the Tri-City Herald for a story Tuesday.

EPA gave the Energy Department 30 days to indicate a commitment to a supplemental environmental project. That deadline expired last week, but the department has expressed interest in developing a project and said it would need additional time to develop a proposal.

EPA agreed not to demand payment of the fine at least until late June.

The Energy Department expects the contractor for the landfill, Washington Closure Hanford, not the government, to cover the costs of a supplemental project.

Washington Closure would pass the costs on to its subcontractors at the landfill, currently S.M. Stoller and formerly Duratek.

The problems came to light in January, when S.M. Stoller discovered that an employee had been recording data for compaction testing when no testing was done.

The fine also covered problems monitoring and using a system to pump water that was collected and drained from the upper liner of the double-lined landfill.

S.M. Stoller would be willing to discuss a supplemental project but is not willing to admit it was at fault, said Jim Archibald, Stoller vice president.