[CPEO-MEF] Oregon joins Hanford (WA) suit

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Press Release
Office of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski
July 3, 2006


Governor joins lawsuit against Bush over nuclear contamination

Suit charges failure to address damages around Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Salem, Oregon-Governor Ted Kulongoski joined a lawsuit Monday against 
the Bush administration, charging that the federal government has failed 
to adequately address damage by nuclear contamination to natural 
resources around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the State of Washington, the 
Yakima Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.

"We need to ensure a full cleanup of the contamination that has occurred 
on and around the Hanford site," Governor Kulongoski said.  "If the Bush 
Administration fails to perform an adequate environmental assessment, we 
will do this critical work ourselves and send the bill to the federal 
government."

Radioactive contamination does not respect state lines and must not be 
allowed to continue to leak into eco system, the Governor added.

Attorney General Hardy Myers filed the complaint at the request of 
Governor Kulongoski.  The State of Oregon and the other plaintiffs are 
natural resource trustees with significant interests in the assessment 
and cleanup of contamination at the Hanford Site.

"We must obtain a reliable assessment of the extent of the contamination 
at Hanford," Myers said. "Without Oregon's participation, the necessary 
assessments may not be designed in a manner, or funded adequately, to 
protect the interests of Oregonians."

The Hanford Site in Washington has significant impacts on Oregon. 
Thousands of Oregonians-including the residents of Hermiston, Boardman, 
Umatilla and neighboring communities-live within 50 miles of the Hanford 
Site.  The majority of the population near the Columbia River downstream 
from Hanford-over a million people-lives in Oregon.  Oregon Indian 
tribes exercise treaty fishing rights in the Columbia River.  Virtually 
all shipments of radioactive material in or out of the Hanford Site 
travel through Oregon.

The case is Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, et al., 
v. U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. 
District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Case No. 
CY-02-3105-LRS.


For the original release and contact information, go to
http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/p2006/press_070306.shtml

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

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