SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said she is against federal plans to potentially ship hazardous waste through the city.
The hazardous waste comes from the Hanford Nuclear Site on the Columbia River. Mayor Brown said The Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Action and the State of Washington plan to transport the nuclear waste through the city on its way to Texas and Utah.
EPA said the Hanford site was first created in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. It produced plutonium for nuclear weapons until 1987. This led to over 2,000 contaminated soil sites, almost 200 square miles of contaminated groundwater and millions of gallons of radioactive waste stored in underground tanks.
The city said if the initial transport of 2,000 gallons of waste is successful, the agencies plan to transport millions more through the city by rail or truck.
Plans to transport the waste through Spokane started after partners in Oregon raised concerns over the risk this would pose to communities where the waste traveled.
“I am extremely disappointed to learn that, following the expression of serious concerns by our friends from the State of Oregon and the (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation), your agencies shifted your planned route to go through Spokane,” Mayor Brown wrote in the letter.
Mayor Brown said these plans were made without an updated Environmental Impact Statement and without consulting the Spokane Office of Emergency Management.
In the letter, Brown said the transport poses an unacceptable risk to the city since both rail and truck traffic pass through downtown.
“The communities closest to the interstate and rail corridors in our city are ones that have already borne the weight of historic discrimination and disinvestment. The potential negative consequences of this plan would disproportionately impact some of our most marginalized communities,” Mayor Brown said. “On behalf of the citizens of Spokane, and in defense of our beautiful natural spaces and vibrant urban setting, I urge you to reconsider this decision.”
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