AGO News Releases With Topic: Environment

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced an important ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the lengthy effort to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

State environmental laws would be preempted under proposed law Today, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and eight other Attorneys General from around the country released a letter they sent to Congress strongly objecting to provisions in the proposed Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S.1009) that would override state environmental laws.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has successfully prosecuted a Snohomish County environmental crime involving illegal dumping of over 6,000 gallons of sewage. This is the first environmental crime the AGO has prosecuted in 10 years.

The State of Washington was extremely disappointed to hear from the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) on Thursday that two more milestones agreed to in the 2010 Hanford Cleanup Consent Decree with the State are at substantial risk of being missed. USDOE Secretary Ernest Moniz called Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday to inform him of this information

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the state filed a Notice of Appeal in the case of US v Washington— the “culverts” case.

Earlier today, Attorney General Bob Ferguson learned the U.S. Dept. of Energy has now increased the number of identified leaking single-shelled radioactive waste storage tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from the one they reported last week to six—and they admit there may be more.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson learned the U.S. Dept. of Energy has identified a leak in one of the single-shelled radioactive waste storage tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, releasing between one-half to one full gallon of liquid per day..."I have met with my legal team and asked them to develop new legal options to enforce the U.S. Department of Energy's current obligations to clean up Hanford. We must ensure that Washington communities and our environment are protected."

This news release, regarding a case argued by the Washington State Attorney General's Office, was distributed by the Department of Ecology OLYMPIA –Washington Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant issued the following statement today on a state Supreme Court ruling upholding a voter-approved funding source for environmental protection and cleanups in Washington state.

SPOKANE – A week before trial was to begin in U.S. District Court in Yakima over Teck Metals, Inc.’s (Teck) liability for contamination from smelter discharges in Canada, the company has conceded its waste is leaching heavy metals in the upper Columbia River in Washington.  

 OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna today urged Department of Energy (USDOE) Secretary Stephen Chu to take all reasonable steps to adhere to the court-ordered timeline to clean up nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.