Hanford board requests budget increase

The Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) is asking the Department of Energy for a larger budget in fiscal year 2010 after having to suspend operations before recent fiscal years ended because of a lack of money.

In 2002 the board's budget was $607,000, but in 2004 it dropped to $471,000 and has remained there since, including the 2009 budget proposal now being considered by Congress.

The board is requesting a fiscal year 2010 budget of $560,000.

"The board is now approaching the point where budget shortfalls will prevent the board from continuing to provide effective public input and advice on Hanford cleanup issues," the board said in a letter sent to the Department of Energy's Hanford offices.

HAB has reduced board meetings to five times a year. Typically, three of those are held in the Tri-Cities to reduce travel costs, and all committee meetings are held in the Tri-Cities or in connection with full board meetings held in other Northwest locations. The board plans to consider holding all meetings in the Tri-Cities next year to further cut costs.

Organizations represented on the board are based in Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho.

The board, which dates to the mid-1990s, originally met monthly and had an annual budget of more than $1 million, said Chairwoman Susan Leckband.

During 2009 the board will continue its work to advise on Hanford nuclear reservation cleanup issues and projects such as protecting groundwater from contamination, the vitrification plant and retrieving radioactive waste from leak-prone underground tanks.