Heart of America Northwest

10/06/2026

Online Hearing on Wednesday Oct 7 on important Hanford sitewide permit:

On Wednesday October 7 at 5:30 PM, the Washington Department of Ecology is holding an online (ZOOM) hearing on the incredibly important permit covering most of the wastes and facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This is the Hanford sitewide RCRA (hazardous waste law) permit.

Heart of America Northwest is far from finished in our review and comments on the permit. Before the comment deadline of October 27, we will send out a Comment Guide and hold workshops online (Several organizations, including Heart of America NW, and a Ttribe have asked for an extension). We have some observations from our review and discussions with Ecology below. Please submit comments by Oct. 27, 2026, at this e-link in the email linked below (unless the extension is granted).
Virtual Online hearing
Oct. 7, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
You can attend two ways:
• Zoom - open email for Zoom link
• Phone
• 253-215-8782
• 253-205-0468
Meeting ID: 862 3423 5565
Passcode: 820026

The Hanford “sitewide” RCRA (hazardous waste) permit is the broadest regulatory permit intended to ensure safe storage, cleanup and disposal of all hazardous wastes at Hanford – including all hazardous wastes mixed with radioactive waste (“mixed waste”). This includes Hanford’s 177 massive High Level Nuclear Waste tanks.
Here’s Ecology’s description of the permit from the Washington Department of Ecology’s Hanford Sitewide Permit website:

The permit covers 52 waste sites and facilities at Hanford and is one of our primary resources for overseeing the U.S. Department of Energy’s treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous and radioactive waste. Ecology’s priority is to have a current, enforceable, consistent, and implementable permit that is protective of human health and the environment.

Under state law (SEPA – the State Environmental Policy Act), the permit must be accompanied by an environmental impact statement (EIS) disclosing potential impacts from the storage, disposal and treatment authorized along with all reasonable alternatives and reasonably foreseeable risks. An example we are concerned about is the disclosure of risks and impacts from High Level Nuclear Waste tanks that will continue to leak for decades. If not accompanied by a new or supplemental EIS, then SEPA requires that prior EISes covering all the potential impacts and alternatives must accompany the permit for public review, or that the permit include “mitigation” measures that reduce the potential impacts to levels that are not significant.

Why this matters: in order to comment effectively on this vitally important permit and all the many units and activities it covers, the public needs to see what the potential impacts are from the facilities (such as their discharges and wastes) and activities along with reasonable alternatives.
This material was funded in part through a Public Participation Grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Email from Heart of America Northwest Suggested comments and background for zoom hearing 5:30 PM Wednesday Members On Wednesday October 7 at 5:30 PM, the Washington Department of Ecology is holding an

10/06/2026

Online Hearing on Wednesday Oct 7 on important Hanford sitewide permit
On Wednesday October 7 at 5:30 PM, the Washington Department of Ecology is holding an online (ZOOM) hearing on the incredibly important permit covering most of the wastes and facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This is the Hanford sitewide RCRA (hazardous waste law) permit.

Heart of America Northwest is far from finished in our review and comments on the permit. Before the comment deadline of October 27, we will send out a Comment Guide and hold workshops online (Several organizations, including Heart of America NW, and a Ttribe, ]have asked for an extension). We have some observations from our review and discussions with Ecology below. Please submit comments by Oct. 27, 2026, at the e-link at bottom (unless the extension is granted).
Virtual Online hearing
Oct. 7, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
You can attend two ways:
• Zoom https://d58nk6cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001XwbJFxBug6Zl0bWh97wZPsgcEZHuskS_AoF9NUGBIRhkPhfKiuPbUMDbNgYvwq_xZvusZ5Qe6PU2T86Njv0ex2U-UNRoJ1bsNnzS_hDtTLECN8EUPcjr0I7yTeR8tHW4Tj05fRMOsA9GEyUP29XgAV18tIUAOqJc5VKMDX8pNp7jRn5Gq7pmxsOqPHqq0Jylwln0gdcRpVkqmRnjIaU7H4JDkIjut90dLrLR0fepCfQ=&c=_L219diykTUaDEEZC1FDWTpE-xoBOkBswst_5JjzzpS5okLYhJ37_A==&ch=bPF5zo1xUT8eGwY8k3j1I3NO1y-BALBF9z1064N7Xo4Gnt1AnyQQEw==
• Phone
• 253-215-8782
• 253-205-0468
Meeting ID: 862 3423 5565
Passcode: 820026

The Hanford “sitewide” RCRA (hazardous waste) permit is the broadest regulatory permit intended to ensure safe storage, cleanup and disposal of all hazardous wastes at Hanford – including all hazardous wastes mixed with radioactive waste (“mixed waste”). This includes Hanford’s 177 massive High Level Nuclear Waste tanks.
Here’s Ecology’s description of the permit from the Washington Department of Ecology’s Hanford Sitewide Permit website:

The permit covers 52 waste sites and facilities at Hanford and is one of our primary resources for overseeing the U.S. Department of Energy’s treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous and radioactive waste. Ecology’s priority is to have a current, enforceable, consistent, and implementable permit that is protective of human health and the environment.

Under state law (SEPA – the State Environmental Policy Act), the permit must be accompanied by an environmental impact statement (EIS) disclosing potential impacts from the storage, disposal and treatment authorized along with all reasonable alternatives and reasonably foreseeable risks. An example we are concerned about is the disclosure of risks and impacts from High Level Nuclear Waste tanks that will continue to leak for decades. If not accompanied by a new or supplemental EIS, then SEPA requires that prior EISes covering all the potential impacts and alternatives must accompany the permit for public review, or that the permit include “mitigation” measures that reduce the potential impacts to levels that are not significant.

Why this matters: in order to comment effectively on this vitally important permit and all the many units and activities it covers, the public needs to see what the potential impacts are from the facilities (such as their discharges and wastes) and activities along with reasonable alternatives.

This material was funded in part through a Public Participation Grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Ecology's permit website: https://d58nk6cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001XwbJFxBug6Zl0bWh97wZPsgcEZHuskS_AoF9NUGBIRhkPhfKiuPbUMDbNgYvwq_xcJ0I8NqwtNt-ieY_3AFvmRj-hUdOd9vmRCEhzykzq6cFLX8JEh8yjrdHtJo6gdHDFHv_OjN7CZ1vX7Yi_ik5tvuupi8JHIFpX008GU1adVH3QK6vXJ-tNQFmIMJVlECh76-iIUWIip5rlsyUhLWW4QogJwWsK40C-9hs9U54Gl6taZopCIPa5jK_2bdCCoIE&c=_L219diykTUaDEEZC1FDWTpE-xoBOkBswst_5JjzzpS5okLYhJ37_A==&ch=bPF5zo1xUT8eGwY8k3j1I3NO1y-BALBF9z1064N7Xo4Gnt1AnyQQEw==
E-link to submit comments: https://d58nk6cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001XwbJFxBug6Zl0bWh97wZPsgcEZHuskS_AoF9NUGBIRhkPhfKiuPbUMDbNgYvwq_x0Ed_ULPY5cXw9C3uGt9UuLYzG-6dkS51gTqMRZPK2z_SbQrXb4GXMOD9B3VjRBIbTEfLpVZiCgg_FYfkv03zrvdM5xxRRg6thocE0AhHuMv5-CQKi1F6jLoZ7A0VpbQK&c=_L219diykTUaDEEZC1FDWTpE-xoBOkBswst_5JjzzpS5okLYhJ37_A==&ch=bPF5zo1xUT8eGwY8k3j1I3NO1y-BALBF9z1064N7Xo4Gnt1AnyQQEw==

09/05/2026

https://lnkd.in/p/gpvUa6Kt

As has been an annual summer tradition for many years, Gabriel S. Galanda hosted Rep. Gerry Pollet's Heart of America Northwest summer legal interns today for a rooftop discussion of Tribal sovereignty and Indigenous human rights.

08/29/2026

Another Trump kick in the guts for protecting the environment and nuclear safety in the Northwest: "Hanford Advisory Board to be gutted...The federal government will restructure oversight of the country’s most polluted place under an inexperienced appointee...
"Wow! This is a bombshell,” said board member Amber Waldref, representing Heart of America Northwest.
“I’m stunned by this,” said board member Rose Ferri, who represents the Yakama Nation.
Board alternate Gerry Pollet, director of Heart of America Northwest, told Columbia Insight that the HAB’s advice sometimes conflicted with DOE desires, and that the coming change in board membership is motivated by a desire to remove criticism of federal government actions.
“They don’t want to answer hard questions,” said Pollet, who has been with the HAB since 1994.

Heart of America Northwest is gathering support for Washington State to have a broad representative board with Tribal Nations, Oregon and representatives chosen by regional environmental organizations and labor to advise Washington as the regulator of Hanford cleanup and waste management.
HoANW Director Gerry Pollet 9who also serves in WA Legislture) is the last remaining active participant from the facilitated working group that negotiated creation of the Hanford Advisory Board as a groundbreaking model for building regional consensus and support for highly controversial environmental issues. The Board was widely cited in public participation literature and used as a model for oversight at Superfund sites across the US, especially at former military sites.

The federal government will restructure oversight of the country’s most polluted place under an inexperienced appointee

08/18/2026

Breaking news: Trump White House and USDOE announce dismantling of the Hanford Advisory Board at board meeting on Wednesday Aug 12th:

Tri-City Herald headline: ‘Highly disrespectful.’ White House to pick who will advise feds on Hanford

Hanford is the most contaminated area in the Western Hemisphere. As you read this, radioactive contamination is seeping into the Columbia River at 2,000 times the Drinking Water Standard where 3 Tribal Nations have Treaty rights to live, fish, visit sacred places and gather plants for foods. And 3 massive High Level Nuclear Waste tanks are leaking. With a massive $3 billion annual budget, USDOE's contracting has been fraught with fraud and mismanagement.

Ending the Hanford Advisory Board is the Trump administration's attempt to silence the voices of Tribes, environmental advocates, worker advocates, and anyone who tries to hold Trump's Energy Department (USDOE) accountable. Maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise given Trump's disregard for health, safety, and the environment. But it did come as a surprise last week when, at a Hanford Advisory Board meeting, we were told this would be our last meeting. Going forward, the White House is hand-picking a list of Trump loyalists to form a smaller "advisory" group to rubber-stamp anything the USDOE wants.

Cleanup along the Columbia River was only prioritized - and funded by Congress - because of years of consensus board advice. That's just one of dozens of examples of the value of a broad representational and indpendent board.

Now, USDOE is proposing to truck liquid waste from High-Level Nuclear Waste tanks across Washington, through downtown Spokane, and Oregon. This advisory board was an important tool for people outside of the Tri-Cities, who will be put at risk, to raise concerns. But Trump and his Department of Energy aren't interested in our safety. So, they're throwing Oregon and the only voices from Spokane off the board along with Tribal Nations and environmental groups.

"Highly Disrespectful": The Tri-City Herald headline used my quote about the Trump Administration and USDOE's attitude towards Treaty rights and sovereignty. The top Trump official at Hanford told the Tribes that they were no different than the "public at large," and individuals chosen by the Trump White House could serve on a new board, rather than the representatives chosen by the elected Tribal Councils. I spoke out forcefully alongside the Yakama Nation's representatives.

A personal note: When we started Heart of America NW 39 years ago, the government wouldn't listen as it tried to use Washington state as the nation's nuclear waste dump and continue making Plutonium for nuclear weapons at Hanford. It took a ballot initative to stop the dump and protect our Columbia. 20 years ago, USDOE was trying again to use Hanford as a national radioactive waste dump. Again we organized, we ran a ballot intiative and we sued... and we ended USDOE dumping nuclear waste in 40 miles of unlined soild ditches.
We've spent decades lobbying, organizing, and suing the Federal Government and we won't stop. As I discuss in the Herald article, shutting out advice will make the most contaminated and dangerous facility in North America more dangerous. Without the forum for talking issues through, USDOE will just face more litigation and opposition.
And we have a solution for a board: Washington State can stand up to Trump once again and create our own board with the Tribes and Oregon.
Heart of America NW Board President Amber Waldref, who is an elected Spokane County Commissioner, has been our organization's primary member on the Hanford Advisory Board. Amber has been the sole member of the Board from the largest downwind city, Spokane. Our alternate has been Alfonso Contreras from Grandview. Wednesday was apparently their last meeting accoridng to USDOE.
Gerry Pollet, Exec Director and co-founder

“They got rid of anyone who ever pushes back, who asks hard questions, who doesn’t just say ‘Yes, sir’ to DOE.”

08/10/2026

Hanford news update: 3 High Level Nuclear Waste tanks continue to leak while officials celebrate emptying other tanks.
If 4,000 gallons of High Level Nuclear Waste remain in a tank.... is it "emptied"?
Watch for hearings starting in September:

Email from Heart of America Northwest Deadly waste moves steadily towards Columbia River Members Hanford officials put out a celebratory message, picked up in news in recent days, including the Seattl

05/10/2026

Help protect our region from the grave risks and waste from 12 proposed new reactors along the Columbia River to serve Amazon' proposed mega data center in Oregon.
We have been working closely with the Yakama and Umatilla Nations (CTUIR) who object to these reactors for violating their Treaty rights and impacting their Treaty protected cultural resources.
This work needs your support...
Amazon and Energy NW want you, the ratepayers and taxpayers, to bear all the financial risks if Amazon pulls the plug on the reactors. We'll be stuck with $9 billion of debt under their proposed legislation.
And if the reactors operate, all their radioactive waste other than the fuel rods will be disposed in leaking, unlined soil ditches at the commercial radioactive waste dump in the center of Hanford.
We bear the $$$ risk, the contamination risk and Amazon will get the benefit for data centers... which will suck the region's water dry.
ttps://conta.cc/4tls41r

Email from Heart of America Northwest Give Big match extended thru Monday - $25/month or $200 earns match! Almost there Help protect our region from the grave risks and waste from 12 proposed new reac

05/04/2026

40 years ago this month, the federal government nominated Hanford to be the nation's High Level Nuclear Waste Dump.
Give Big this week - open up- to honor our work and protect our Columbia River from Hanford's leaking High Level Nuclear Waste tanks.
In 1986, when UDOE nominated Hanford, I worked with my mentors Russell Jim of the Yakama Nation, Bill Mitchell and others to write the statewide ballot referendum that stopped the use of Hanford as the nation's High Level Nuclear Waste Dump. That's the year we all learned our federal government had deliberately released massive amounts of radiation from Hanford over WA and OR... read on

Email from Heart of America Northwest Give Big this week - $25/month or $200 earns match! 40 years! Perseverance Dedication Engagement Making our Region Far Safer Protecting the Health of Generations

03/24/2026

Should USDOE approve its "WIR" proposal opening the door to send 32 million gallons of waste from Hanford's High Level Nuclear Waste tanks to be disposed where there is no risk of contaminating groundwater in West Texas or Utah?
Comments needed by 5 PM Thursday March 26.
The goal is one we have long advocated for.
But, the method and lack of analysis need your comments - click link below for your Comment Guide from Heart of America NW:
1 - Don't send 582 truckloads of untreated LIQUID waste a year through downtown Spokane or Oregon. Shipping liquid wastes is inherently dangerous. And there is a readily available safe alternative to treat and solidify the waste before shipment. Use the licensed, unionized Perma-Fix NW treatment facility to solidify the waste before it goes on the road.
2 - Why would USDOE and Washington agree to remove waste from 3 of the Single Shell Tank farms in the 200 West Area and NOT plan on including removal of waste from the tanks that are leaking???
3- if USDOE doesn't decide to switch to the far safer shipment of treated solidified waste and the agencies don't include leaking tanks, then they need to do an Environmental Impact Statement on the risks.
Use our Comment Guide to understand and submit comments to [email protected] by end of Thursday.

02/26/2026

Your survey input due today Feb 26:
You know Hanford Cleanup public involvement can be improved. Open to read our full email and link to use our Comment Guide and your experience to respond to the Hanford Cleanup agencies' annual public involvement survey. Our guide shares best practices for many environmental issue public involvement programs. Your survey responses are needed by Feb 26.
https://conta.cc/3OK7Qj

Email from Heart of America Northwest Use our Guide for Hanford public involvement annual survey How Can Public Involvement in Hanford Cleanup be Improved? Friends, You probably have a lot to say - a