Title: Minimization of effluent discharge to the Soil Column
Abstract: In 1987, the US Congress mandated that the US Department of Energy (DOE), cease discharge of contaminated effluents to the soil column at the Hanford Site by calendar year 1995. The plan and schedule for this activity can be found in The Plan and Schedule to Discontinue Disposal of Contaminated Liquid into the Soil Column at the Hanford Site, (WHC 1987). Coupled with this mandate and DOE`s intent to cleanup Hanford (remediate and restore to the extent practicable), DOE entered into an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). The agreement is called the ``Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order`` (Ecology et al. 1992) otherwise known as the Tri-Party Agreement. The Tri-Party Agreement established schedules and legally enforceable milestones for the Hanford cleanup mission. One such milestone was to cease discharge of effluent to Hanford`s 300 Area process trenches located approximately 100 m from the Columbia River, north of Richland, Washington.