By Bill Lucia | Editor
Washington’s Hanford complex is one of the most radioactively contaminated sites on the planet, with 177 leak-prone underground tanks of dangerous waste near the Columbia River. Federal budget proposals now in play would cut nearly half a billion dollars from the cleanup project. Its budget is now around $3.3 billion. President Donald Trump called for axing about $400 million from that sum. A GOP spending plan in the U.S. House would subtract another $55 million.
Also in today’s edition…
The latest on Puget Sound Energy’s clean energy push.
Calls by some Democrats to expand the U.S. Supreme Court draw backlash.
And, private equity scoops up apartments around the U.S.
News tips, feedback, questions? Email us: [email protected]
Stainless steel containers for waste in the low-activity waste facility at the Hanford site. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/Bechtel)
By John Stang
Conversion of radioactive waste into a benign glass began at Hanford last fall, 16 years after an original deadline.
Casey Sixkiller, director of Washington’s ecology department, said the proposed Hanford cuts would further “delay critical progress” at the site and threaten the Columbia River and communities across the region.
“The additional cuts proposed in the House budget are unjustified,” he added. “We will continue working with Washington’s delegation to fully fund cleanup work at Hanford.”
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy)
By Aspen Ford
Puget Sound Energy signed a deal this week for 200 megawatts of wind power from a project in Klickitat County. The facility, known as Big Horn I, will provide enough electricity for about 70,000 homes, according to the utility.
PSE, the state’s largest utility, is racing to meet a 2030 state-imposed deadline to make its power portfolio greenhouse gas neutral. As is, about 58% of its electricity supply comes from clean energy, up from 26% in 2019.
The utility’s customers are seeing rates climb as PSE spends to meet the state requirements. Regulators approved a roughly 12% increase last year, and PSE is currently seeking state permission for further rate hikes.
By Jonathan Shorman
Republicans are criticizing calls by some Democrats to expand the Supreme Court beyond nine justices. The idea has gained attention after the court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision. That ruling cleared the way for GOP-controlled states to redraw congressional districts ahead of the November midterm elections.
A U.S. House hearing on Thursday offered a window into how the debate over expanding the court could unfold if Democrats continue to push it.
“Will the United States Congress side with the idea that we should be more democratic in our third branch, or that our third branch should remain more independent, less if not completely outside” the will of the people at the moment, said Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican and chair of the House subcommittee that held the hearing.
Henry “Hank” Johnson, of Georgia, the subcommittee’s top Democrat, suggested Democrats “can either sit back as our Supreme Court continues to act without any restraint or checks and balances, or we can do something about it.”
By Robbie Sequeira
Private equity firms own nearly 3 million apartment units, about 13% of the total apartments across the country, according to a new analysis from watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project. More than two-thirds of those units are located in 10 states, including Washington. The other states include Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, New York, Arizona and Virginia.
ICYMI
Only a fraction of state flood aid has made it to victims | Jake Goldstein-Street
Top Ferguson adviser exits for private sector | Jerry Cornfield
Thanks for reading The Daily Standard. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward it to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.