Heart of America Northwest

Mission

Heart of America Northwest is "The Public's Voice for Hanford and toxic site cleanup in the Northwest." Leading newspapers call us "the premier Hanford cleanup watchdog group," for our research, educating and organizing across the Northwest to protect the Columbia River and health of future generations from Hanford's contamination. Our mission includes fighting for environmental justice, climate change and training tomorrow's organizers, legal, public health professionals. We offer the workshops and Comment Guides that are the leading tools to help the public - you - be effective advocates. 

We led the successful ballot initiatives and years-long organizing struggles: 

• that stopped Hanford from being the nation's High-Level Nuclear Waste dump and 
• brought and end to using massive unlined ditches to dump the nation's nuclear weapons and reactor wastes; t
• shut-down the FFTF nuclear reactor; 
• required USDOE to have a program to cleanup the contaminated groundwater that flows into the Columbia River... 

NOW, we are leading to protect our Columbia River and the health of generations to come from the leaking High Level Nuclear Waste tanks that the US Department of Energy refuses to empty. Federal and state laws require removal of leakable liquids from leaking hazardous waste tanks. In 2023, we filed a legal challenge to the secretly negotiated deal between USDOE and Washington Ecology to let tanks keep leaking. We secured a settlement requiring significant steps towards complying with the law. During 2024, the analyses required under our legal settlement should be part of public hearings on responding to tank leaks.

Description

Hanford, in our backyard, is the most contaminated area and most dangerous industrial facility in the Western Hemisphere. As you read this, radioactive and chemical contamination flows into the Columbia River and numerous facilities could release vast amounts of radiation in a mild earthquake.
When High-Level Nuclear Waste tanks leak, we're the legal and organizing defense to protect the Columbia River, Treaty rights and health for thousands of years. 

As you read this, another High-Level Nuclear Waste tank is leaking. And the US Department of Energy refuses to obey the law that requires leaking tanks to be emptied. Click here to learn more and quickly send an email to insist Washington State enforces the law to stop the tank from leaking. 

Your contributions enabled us to document that the leak was known for two years without even being reported - a major legal violation.

But, Washington State signed an agreement with USDOE to just let the tank keep leaking for decades! 

We filed the legal challenge to that backroom deal. We need your support for the research and in-house legal work to require that environmental laws are followed and High-Level Nuclear Waste tanks aren't allowed to just leak and contaminate groundwater flowing into the Columbia River. 

Our research and advocacy protected the Columbia River from untreated liquid wastes dumped along the River, stopped illegal storage of explosive wastes, ended dumping in unlined ditches, protected hundreds of cleanup workers from deadly exposures. We are the only group or entity holding public workshops around the region and issuing Citizens' Guides, enabling the public to comment on cleanup plans (or delays). National and regional news media rely on us for expert, independent viewpoints.

We continue to present our members and the public with widely praised workshops on major Hanford decisions and comment periods along with our award winning "Citizens' Guides."  Contributing at any level will add you to our list for Guides and invites! 

As part of our environmental justice mission, we work closely with the Tribes whose health and Treaty rights to fish and live along the 50 miles of Columbia River running through Hanford are being violated. Your support also enables us to offer the only Tribal and Environmental Law student internship program in the region to inspire and train a new generation to protect Treaty rights and our environment.

Your support this year will help us fight the federal Energy Departments' schemes to rename and abandon High Level Nuclear Waste in leaking tanks, abandon waste sites along the River, and to leave huge quantities of deadly Plutonium just a few feet below the ground.

Recognition

A generous donor will match donations if we exceed 50 donors for Give Big, up to $3,000.  Monthly or quarterly contribution pledges count!  Help us get there! Please give generously.