One of the leaders of the citizen-led group that advises the U.S. Department of Energy on the Hanford site cleanup recently warned it is on the cusp of being unable to function due to federal authorities’ delay in confirming its membership.

The Hanford Advisory Board, or HAB, had a productive 2025 despite the record-long federal shutdown in the fall preventing it from meeting as much as planned, Susan Coleman, HAB co-chair, said during a recent meeting in Pasco of leaders from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) and the cleanup sites it manages across the country.

The non-partisan HAB managed to issue four pieces of advice to DOE EM on specific projects at the Hanford site as well as on cleanup priorities and public involvement. Members also toured and observed facilities and operations to see how work is proceeding.

But DOE has failed since last fall to formally confirm existing members expected to continue the advisory board’s work.

“We’re down to minimal staffing because our (membership) packets are backed up,” Coleman said. “On Oct. 1 we won’t have a board because we’re all in the packet.”

Kelly Snyder, the designated federal officer for HAB, acknowledged that DOE is taking more time to review membership packets. She said board member confirmations are coming for Hanford as well as for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina after the agency recently confirmed new members for the Oak Ridge Advisory Board in Tennessee.

“We want to make sure we give you the tools and the people to make recommendations,” Snyder said.

Snyder added that HAB members awaiting confirmation can continue to engage with the advisory board as members of the public until they are formally confirmed, though they cannot take part in HAB decisions and recommendations.