This is a message from the U.S. Department of Energy

Notice of Public Comment Period on Proposed Tri-Party Agreement Changes Related to Adaptive Milestone Approach for Establishing Scope and Schedule for Central Plateau Cleanup Work

The Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) agencies — U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology — have agreed to pilot a new approach to establish Hanford cleanup milestones. The Adaptive Milestone Approach will identify workscopes and schedules for some cleanup activities in the middle of the Hanford Site, an area called the Central Plateau.

As part of piloting the Adaptive Milestone Approach, the agencies are proposing changes to some of the milestones in the M-015, M-016 and M-085 series (see TPA Appendix D) in the fiscal year 2022-2024 timeframe. Generally, the milestones are for investigation/feasibility studies, work plans and field work to remediate waste sites, contaminated soil and underground liquid-waste disposal sites. Some milestones include activities to prepare for facility demolition.

The overall goal of the Adaptive Milestone Approach and related TPA changes is to provide a framework that prioritizes a practical, efficient, timely and cost-effective path for accelerating cleanup on the Central Plateau.

Under the approach, the TPA agencies will review the enforceable milestones in the near term (potentially 2-5 years). The DOE will use a computer application to assess potential cleanup scenarios and help inform discussions when negotiating future milestones.

The 45-day public comment period runs from July 5 through Aug. 19, 2022. A virtual public meeting will be held Aug. 9 at 5:30 p.m. PT. To participate via Microsoft Teams, please follow the instructions below:

Join on your computer or Teams mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Video Conference ID: 114 168 826 6

Or call in (audio only)
(509) 931-1284 United States
(833) 633-0875 United States (Toll-free)
Phone Conference ID: 423 149 162#

The draft proposed change package will be available online during the public comment period Hanford events calendar, the Hanford Administrative Record, and at the Hanford Public Information Repositories. Please see the attached summary fact sheet for more information.

Please submit comments by Aug. 19 to CPmilestones@rl.gov (preferred) or in writing to:

Attn: Jennifer Colborn,
U.S. Department of Energy
P.O. Box 450, H5-20
Richland, WA 99352

Questions? Please contact Jennifer Colborn, DOE, at Jennifer.Colborn@rl.doe.gov or (509) 376-5840.

To request disability accommodation, please contact Jennifer Colborn, (509) 376-5840 at least 10 working days prior to the event. DOE makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests.

Fact Sheet
TPA Central Plateau Presentation
Ecology Perspective TPA Central Plateau Public Meeting Presentation
TPA Central Plateau Milestones Public Meeting - YouTube