EPA’s Role in Hanford: Overcoming Challenges and Celebrating Achievements

As part of our “Role of the Regulators” series, Hanford Communities engaged with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss their regulatory role at the Hanford Site. Here’s what they shared.

1. Please introduce yourself, your current role, and how long you’ve been in your current role. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s role at Hanford dates to the 1980s. Today, the EPA Hanford team includes the following:

Roberto Armijo

I am a remedial project manager with the EPA Hanford Project Office. I have been with the agency for almost three years and oversee the 100-K Area and assist with public involvement for the site.

Craig Cameron

As a remedial project manager for the EPA, I focus on building decontamination and demolition as well as investigation and cleanup of waste sites in the 200 Area at Hanford. I have been in this position for 26 years.

Dave Einan

I’m currently the senior EPA remedial project manager for Department of Energy sites in Region 10, a post I’ve held for about four years. I have been working for EPA on cleanup of the Hanford Site for almost 35 years.

Cascade Galasso-Irish (AKA Cass)

I am an EPA remedial project manager at the Hanford Site, primarily the 100-D/H and Central Plateau Areas. I’ve been in this role since March of 2024.

Anne McCartney

I’m an EPA remedial project manager with the Hanford Project Office overseeing the 300 Area, 100-F/IU, 200-CW-3, and 200-BC-1 operable units. I have been with the EPA since March of 2021.

Michelle Mullin

I’m the senior policy advisor for EPA Region 10 on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. I led the team that issued the variance for the Test Bed Initiative, I directly issue PCB approvals for the site and I advise the Tri-Parties on hazardous waste management practices. I’ve worked in hazardous and toxic waste positions for 20 years, and in this role for about two and a half years.

Geoff Schramm

I’ve been a remedial project manager with the Hanford Project Office since March of 2021. I oversee several areas on the Hanford site, including 100-N, 100-B/C, 200-PW-1/3/6 as well as several Central Plateau groundwater units. I also assist with public involvement for the site.

2. Can you provide a brief overview of the Hanford Site and its historical significance in the context of the EPA’s involvement?

Historical operations at the Hanford Site resulted in one of the most complex environmental cleanup efforts in the world. To tackle the cleanup mission through a government-wide approach, the EPA, Department of Energy and Washington State Department of Ecology signed the Tri-Party Agreement (known as the TPA) in 1989.

The TPA outlines the roles and responsibilities for each party. In short, DOE is the lead agency responsible for Hanford and its cleanup. EPA is the federal regulator and Ecology is the state regulator – we ensure that applicable laws and regulations are followed and agreed upon deadlines are met.

3. What were the primary environmental challenges faced at the Hanford Site in the early years of its operation?

EPA’s work at Hanford began once operations were concluded.

Hanford is a Superfund site, meaning under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) the contamination levels warrant priority cleanup by EPA. Cleaning up a Superfund site is a complex, multi-phase process. At Hanford, the cleanup is divided into four separate areas of work:
• Hanford 100 Area
• Hanford 200 Area
• Hanford 300 Area
• Hanford 1100 Area

EPA’s early focus included finding and stopping leaking wastewater, cleanup along the Columbia River and removing millions of tons of contaminated soil and debris. That occurred mainly in the 300 and 1100 areas. Today, work is focused on the 100 and 200 areas.

4. How does the EPA contribute to the regulatory oversight at Hanford?

EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment so that’s our focus when making disposal and cleanup decisions at Hanford.

In general, EPA operates under three federal laws at Hanford:
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act – or CERCLA – is commonly known as Superfund and provides the federal government authority to respond directly to releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – or RCRA – is the federal law that governs the disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA has a ‘cradle to grave’ concept built into the rules, where the proper disposal of waste is just as important as safely managing it during the active life of the facility.
• The Toxic Substances Control Act – or TSCA – is the federal law that banned the use and intentional manufacturing of PCBs. PCBs were used in various applications across the Hanford site prior to the ban in 1978.

Examples of EPA’s oversight activities at Hanford include:
• Ensuring the cleanup is compliant with all federal environmental laws
• Offering consultation to the Tribes prior to making major cleanup decisions
• Holding final signatory authority on major cleanup decisions
• Addressing safety and other compliance issues on the site
• Issuing approvals for equipment decontamination and waste disposal

5. What are some of the key milestones outlined in the TPA, and why are they significant for the Hanford Site’s cleanup efforts?

EPA work at the Hanford site has resulted in the completion of dozens of milestones in our 35 years of work at the site, including:
• Investigation of all contamination to determine the nature and extent of the problem
• Selecting the best way(s) to cleanup the four different areas
• Addressing contaminated facilities, such as the former processing canyons. Clean up of the large canyon building and associated structures known as the 221-U Facility is about halfway done and is now awaiting investigation and remediation of surrounding waste sites before it can be completed.
• Demolition of buildings and placing old reactors in an ‘interim safe storage’ condition so that the remaining radioactivity can decay without risk to humans or the environment
• Groundwater extraction and treatment
• Construction of barrier walls to address contaminated groundwater
• Removal of spent nuclear fuel and associated waste
• Construction of an Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), a massive landfill built to provide safe disposal of some of the waste generated by on-site

Future milestones include:
• Retrieving waste from 22 tanks by 2040. This reduces the likelihood of the aging tanks leaking waste into the surrounding environment.
• Characterization and completion of remedial and removal activities along the River Corridor and Central Plateau.

6. How does the EPA balance regulatory oversight with collaborative efforts to achieve the TPA’s goals?

In addition to our regulatory role at the Hanford site, EPA is also responsible for collaborating with Tribes and the community. EPA meets with those affected by the work at Hanford to understand and address their concerns at various points of the cleanup process.

A great example of this is the recently approved “Treatability Variance.” This is a formal process that allows for a variation in the normal treatment methods. The Tri-Parties recognized that each had different interpretations of the treatment requirements. Instead of continuing to debate which interpretation was correct – and delay off-site disposal further – the parties agreed to try an alternate path. The treatability variance was issued by the EPA but developed in coordination with Ecology and DOE. The proposal went out for public comment, a public notice was published and Tribal consultations were offered. By identifying a third path forward we collectively achieved the TPA goals of safely disposing of tank waste.

7. What motivates you and your team to continue striving for environmental improvement at such a historically and environmentally complex site?

EPA’s goal is to protect human health and the environment, so our project managers are on the ground, actively engaged, continually monitoring and regularly reviewing the work at Hanford. EPA’s intent is that all Superfund sites become available for re-use.