But they also said they could offer support only if the extra 10 percent actually materializes. They generally felt too much 200 Area cleanup would be sacrificed if the extra 10 percent isn't committed. No one outside top DOE circles will know if the extra 10 percent will be sought until February, when DOE's fiscal 2002 budget request to Congress is to be unveiled. That raises the question of what DOE's overall cleanup spending philosophy will be. Sherwood and Ron Skinnarland, the Ecology Department's waste management section manager, noted DOE and the two regulatory agencies recently have had trouble negotiating changes.
Talks are usually slow.
And in some cases, they deadlocked until the state used its legal power to force changes, and DOE appealed the changes. A special HAB multicommittee meeting is planned in the second week of October to discuss and outline the problems, advantages and unanswered questions of DOE's proposal. Then the full Hanford Advisory Board plans to determine its stance in November. Copyright 2000 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.