5 days ago
Patty Murray's Hanford site victory proves the power of persistence
When bureaucratic roadblocks threatened to stall Hanford cleanup and eliminate local jobs, Sen. Patty Murray stepped up and got results. Her recent confrontation with Energy Secretary Chris Wright proved that strong advocacy can break through federal inaction.
Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, got into a heated exchange with Wright during a hearing about the Department of Energy's 2026 budget. She told him that Hanford subcontractors were on the brink of layoffs because DOE had locked up congressionally approved funding for the current fiscal year.
Even though President Donald Trump had signed off on the money in March, the Energy Department had not provided a required spending plan to Congress on time. The uncertainty jeopardized ongoing work at Hanford.
America owes this support not just as the right thing to do environmentally, but also as a decades-old debt from the many years Hanford produced plutonium for nuclear weapons and served as a repository for nuclear and other toxic waste. The Tri-Cities community stepped up when the nation needed it, and now the debt is due.
If withholding funds was an early sign that the Trump administration was deprioritizing Hanford, it augured serious trouble ahead.
Murray didn't mince words with Wright. She made it clear that withholding congressionally appropriated money constituted impoundment and was illegal.
Washington's senior senator has been a fierce advocate for Hanford site cleanup. She has fought attempts by multiple administrations to shortchange funding. She understands that delays cost more in the long run and put the community at risk. Last year she secured a record $3 billion for cleanup, a $191 million increase over the previous year.
Her commitment to Hanford cleanup paid off yet again with Wright. The day after the hearing, the Energy Department released the funds to prevent subcontractor layoffs. Murray had given a master class in effective advocacy and political pressure applied at exactly the right moment.
This probably won't be the last time Washington will count on Murray to go to bat for Hanford. The Trump administration has implemented sweeping changes at DOE. More than 3,500 employees took buyouts and hundreds more were fired. Projects that require constant oversight and technical expertise become especially vulnerable under those circumstances.
For example, in January, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology finalized an agreement on treating tank waste after nearly four years of negotiations. It sets ambitious timelines for processing dangerous radioactive waste.
Flat or reduced funding could require shifting money from other cleanup priorities to meet this project's deadlines, delaying remediation along the Columbia River.
Hanford has 56 million gallons of high-level radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks. About one-third of them are suspected of leaking in the past with three currently believed to be leaking, seeping toward the Columbia River. Every delay in cleanup increases the risk of further contamination.
The cleanup work also is a cornerstone of the Tri-Cities economy. It employs thousands of workers directly and supports countless more jobs throughout the region. When funding gets frozen or delayed, the ripple effects hit everyone from engineers and technicians to local businesses.
Murray's success in unlocking cleanup funds demonstrates the value of having experienced advocates in Washington who understand both the technical complexities of Hanford cleanup and the political realities of federal budgeting.
She and the rest of Washington's congressional delegation must ensure that the federal government does not abandon its commitment to the Tri-Cities.
