DOE proposes sending Hanford waste to New Mexico

The announcement comes as Hanford is grappling with revelations that some of its waste tanks are leaking, putting the managers of the old nuclear weapons site under pressure to get waste cleaned up and moved out. But it raises questions on the receiving end, where New Mexico, under then-Gov. Bill Richardson, a decade ago moved to block a similar proposal, saying the waste in question does not meet legal criteria set out when the state agreed to host WIPP.

We’re awaiting comment from New Mexico Environment Department about whether the agency, under Gov. Susana Martinez, supports or opposes the proposal. More here as we get comment from NMED, and in tomorrow’s newspaper.

update: NMED spokesman Jim Winchester issued the following statement this afternoon:

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has been informally notified by the Department of Energy (DOE) of their intent to submit a request for a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) permit modification that would allow the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to ship approximately 3-million gallons of processed radioactive transuranic waste from the Hanford site to WIPP near Carlsbad. NMED has not yet received the formal WIPP permit modification request. All WIPP permit modifications are thoroughly evaluated on technical merit and for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.