Hanford Federal Facility Permits
The 586-square-mile Hanford Site is located along the Columbia River in south-central Washington State. A plutonium-production complex with nine nuclear reactors and associated processing facilities, Hanford played a pivotal role in the nation's defense for more than 40 years, beginning in the 1940s with the Manhattan Project. Today, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy, Hanford is engaged in the world's largest environmental cleanup project, with a number of overlapping technical, political, regulatory, financial, and cultural issues.
Vision
In addition to providing oversight and permitting for cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site, the Nuclear Waste Program provides Oversight to AREVA NP, Perma-Fix Northwest and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.Current Hanford Dangerous Waste (Site-Wide), Rev. 8C
The site-wide permit is Ecology’s tool for regulating the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous and mixed wastes (containing both radioactivity and chemicals) at Hanford. The permit’s purpose is to protect people and the environment. The permit sets conditions based on the state’s laws and regulations that control the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous wastes. Ecology is required to establish these permit conditions by the Dangerous Waste Regulations in Washington Administrative Code (WAC)173-303. Protection of people and the environment underlies every permit condition. Find out more...
DRAFT Hanford Dangerous Waste (Site-Wide), Rev. 9
The site-wide permit is Ecology’s tool for regulating the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous and mixed wastes (containing both radioactivity and chemicals) at Hanford. The permit’s purpose is to protect people and the environment. The permit sets conditions based on the state’s laws and regulations that control the treatment, storage, and disposal of dangerous wastes. Ecology is required to establish these permit conditions by the Dangerous Waste Regulations in Washington Administrative Code (WAC)173-303. Protection of people and the environment underlies every permit condition. Find out more...
Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant
The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant (WTP) is a waste management unit under construction just outside the eastern boundary of the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site. WTP will chemically separate, treat, and immobilize by vitrification the majority of Hanford’s 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored in 177 underground tanks.
Hanford Air Permitting
The Air Operating Permit (AOP) protects the people and air resources of Washington State through coordination of permitting and regulatory issues associated with the Federal Clean Air Act and the Washington Clean Air Act (Revised Code of Washington 70.94.161 and Appendix A to Part 70 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations). Ecology is the lead agency for the Hanford AOP. Through an interagency agreement and a delegation, the Hanford AOP is enforced by three agencies. Ecology regulates non-radioactive toxics, criteria air emissions and asbestos, the Washington State Department of Health regulates radioactive air emissions, and Benton Clean Air Agency regulates outdoor burning. Find out more...
State Waste Discharge
The purpose of the State waste discharge permit program (WAC 173-216) is to implement a permit program regulating the discharge of waste materials from industrial, commercial, and municipal sources into ground and surface waters of the State and into municipal sewer systems. However, this regulation does not apply to discharges regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program or discharge of pollutants into waters of the State regulated by the waste discharge general permit program. Some examples of categories of Ecology’s Washington General permits ( WAC 173-226 ) are discharges from concrete batch plants, seafood processors, dairy farms, etc. Find out more...
Today, Hanford is one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the World. About 10% of the land area and 80 square-miles of groundwater are unsafe for human use. Cleanup includes collecting, removing, and/or safely storing chemically toxic and radioactive materials. Activities involve soil and groundwater cleanup and demolishing old facilities to ensure the safety of future generations.
Other Mixed Waste Permits
Framatome (formerly AREVA, Inc.)
Framatome makes nuclear fuel for commercial nuclear reactors under a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The process produces dangerous and mixed (radioactive and chemically hazardous) waste. Ecology’s permit to Framatome is for storage of those wastes until they are shipped offsite to an approved disposal facility. Framatome is located in Richland. Find out more...
Perma-Fix Northwest
Perma-Fix Northwest is a waste treatment facility specializing in treating low-level and mixed low-level waste. Find out more...
Puget Sound Naval Complex
The Permittees are the United States Department of the Navy (DON) as owner and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) as operator.
Ecology initially received the permit renewal application on January 28, 2016.
Ecology reviewed PSNS & IMF’s draft permit renewal submittal and determined the application complete with technical deficiencies on March 28, 2016.
The purpose of this permit renewal is to continue to allow PSNS & IMF to operate their Mixed Waste Storage Facility to store containers of mixed waste.
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