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Rep. Newhouse Commends Hanford Land Transfer Milestone

October 1, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the floor of the U.S. House, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) commended this week's transfer of 1,641 acres of unneeded federal land from the Hanford site to the Tri-City Development Council, the designated Community Reuse Organization:

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Dan Newhouse Hanford Land Transfer

CLICK HERE TO WATCH REP. NEWHOUSE RECOGNIZE HANFORD LAND TRANSFER

Transcript:

"I rise to recognize a significant milestone in Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco, Washington. While the Tri-Cities led the way in ending World War II and the Cold War—and was very proud to do so—the federal government has a legal and moral obligation to clean-up the legacy nuclear waste at Hanford. This week, we celebrate a clean-up milestone and the transfer of more than 1,600 acres of land back to these communities.

"This transfer represents the culmination of years of local efforts as well as bipartisan, bicameral cooperation. I commend the work of Doc Hastings and Senators Murray and Cantwell that laid the groundwork for this achievement.

"As Hanford's cleanup mission is completed, this unneeded federal land should continue to be returned to the local community for the goals of conservation, preservation, public access, and economic development to be achieved.

"This long-anticipated land transfer will be used for industrial and energy production and creates jobs and boosts economic development in the mid-Columbia region. This week's transfer is an exciting step for the post-Hanford future. I will continue to work with all parties to have more land returned to the community."