White House Proposes Cutting Hanford Cleanup Budget

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The Obama administration wants to spend less money on the ongoing cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation next year.

The Tri-City Herald reports that the White House called for an overall decrease in money spent for cleanup of defense sites like Hanford in its federal budget request for fiscal year 2017.

A Department of Energy spokeswoman says the proposed budget for the Richland Operations Office would drop by $190 million from spending this year, but that the Office of River Protection, which is responsible for the tanks holding waste, would see a budget increase of $86 million.

Both of Washington's senators and were critical of the proposed budget cuts, saying the project should at least maintain current funding levels.

Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons.