Erin Hut, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 3:05 p.m.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (Energy), U.S. Environmental Protection Action (EPA), and State of Washington (State), Mayor Lisa Brown expressed her opposition to plans that could send millions of gallons of hazardous waste through the City of Spokane.
The hazardous waste is set to be shipped from the Hanford Nuclear Site to facilities in Texas and Utah in its liquid form. It is the mayor’s understanding that should an initial transport of 2,000 gallons be successful, these agencies plan to transport millions more gallons of hazardous liquid waste through Spokane by rail or truck.
Plans were made to send the shipments through Spokane after partners in Oregon expressed valid concerns about the associated risk to any community through which it is trucked.
“I am extremely disappointed to learn that, following the expression of serious concerns by our friends from the State of Oregon and the [Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation], your agencies shifted your planned route to go through Spokane,” Mayor Brown wrote in the letter.
Mayor Brown also expressed concern that these plans were made without an updated Environmental Impact Statement and without consultation with Spokane’s Office of Emergency Management and first responders.
In her letter, Mayor Brown explained how the Energy, EPA and State plan poses an unacceptable risk to the City of Spokane, as both rail and truck traffic pass through the heart of downtown over high bridges and elevated viaducts.
“Furthermore, the communities closest to the interstate and rail corridors in our city are ones that have already borne the weight of historic discrimination and disinvestment. The potential negative consequences of this plan would disproportionately impact some of our most marginalized communities,” Mayor Brown said. “On behalf of the citizens of Spokane, and in defense of our beautiful natural spaces and vibrant urban setting, I urge you to reconsider this decision.”
