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FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2002

An $800 million funding deal by the Bush administration is a ruse to limit responsibilities to clean up nuclear waste in Washington, critics charged on Thursday.

The money could be viewed as an incentive to lower environmental standards, said Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Maria Cantwell. Their statements were made at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

The issue affects the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington. Several tribes in the area used to own and use the land before the government took it away in the 1990s.

The Yakama Nation has sued the Department of Energy for trying to redefine waste at the site.

Get the Story:
Hanford cleanup plan seen as cutting corners (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/12)
Critics Say Plan to Speed Nuclear-Waste Cleanup Could Reduce Government's Work (The New York Times 7/12)
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Relevant Links:
Revised tribal policy, Department of Energy - http://www.hanford.gov/doe/inp/proginfo.htm
Indian Nations Program, Hanford Site - http://www.hanford.gov/doe/inp/index.htm
Cultural and Historic Resource Program, Hanford Site - http://www.hanford.gov/doe/culres/native.html
Tribal Nations Involvement, Office of Environmental Management - http://www.em.doe.gov/em22/tribindx.html

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