The public comment period on the Hanford draft Tank Closure & Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been extended 45 days - until May 3, 2010!  Heart of America Northwest has compiled resources for you to learn about the EIS & submit comments.

Step One: Learn about the Environmental Impact Statement
The Tank Closure & Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement is a 6,000 page document prepared by the United States Department of Energy that's supposed to evaluate the environmental impacts of its preferred alternatives for cleanup at Hanford.  However, the EIS includes the following formal "preferred alternatives":

• Never clean up the millions of gallons of deadly radioactive waste leaked from High-Level Nuclear Waste tanks at Hanford;
• Never find out what is in, or clean up, over 40 miles of unlined soil trenches of radioactive & chemical wastes;
• Not dismantle the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor, instead entombing it;
• And, add even more waste to Hanford's problems by making it a national radioactive waste dump

Does that sound like a clean up plan to you? Read on for more information:

• HOANW's Citizens' Guide to the EIS
• Slides from HOANW's 3-15-2010 webinar on the EIS
• HOANW's Factsheet - with groundwater contamination maps from the EIS
• 2-9-2010 Oregonian article, "Despite billions spent on cleanup, Hanford won't be clean for thousands of years"
• Watch Gerry Pollet on "The Water Spot' - one hour cable TV show with details about the EIS!

Step Two: Write Your Comments
Phrase your comments however you feel comfortable -some of the most powerful comments we heard at the public hearings were from grandmothers, university students & downwinders who incorporated their stories.  However, make sure your main message - what you want to see happen at Hanford - is clear.  We're submitting comments that:

• Oppose using Hanford as a national radioactive waste dump;
• Advocate for the complete cleanup ("clean closure") of the High-Level Nuclear Waste Tanks;
• Urge the Department of Energy to cleanup the contamination from High-Level Nuclear Waste tank leaks & deliberate discharges

Step Three: Submit Your Comments
You can email them right now to TC&WMEIS@saic.com!
If you prefer U.S. Mail, send them to TC & WM EIS, P.O. Box 1178, Richland WA 99352

Step Four: Spread your message further!
Send a copy of your comments to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu;
Contact Governor Gregoire (WA) or Governor Kulongoski (OR);
Washingtonians - let Senators Murray & Cantwell know what you think & Oregonians - contact Senators Merkley & Wyden

Step Five: Tell your friends
Take a minute to ask a few of your friends to chime in on this plan to make Hanford a national radioactive waste dump.  Fan us on facebook & follow us on twitter to stay in tune with the most recent Hanford buzz!

Questions? Contact Lisa! lisa@hoanw.org or 206.382.1014