For starters, the site sits on federal land and won't be as easy to transfer to local interests. A bill already is working its way through the Legislature that should help clear that up. More troublesome will be finding a way to get water to the site. It already has a right to pull water from the Columbia River but only for the purposes of operating two nuclear power plants. Energy Northwest had asked the Legislature for authorization to use that water right for other industrial purposes, but that provision has been gutted from the bill.
Water is a fundamental concern here.
All obstacles aside, development at Hanford won't look anything like it does at Satsop. With the operating Plant No. 2 dominating the site, Energy Northwest won't be able to shake the industrial feel. They have a different kind of a use but a similar challenge said Tami Garrow, director of business development for the development group. It's a big job. Instead, the Hanford facilities are more likely to be marketed to industrial users like metallurgical companies, Fraley said.