In the early 1990s, the US Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Safe Interim Storage of Hanford Tank Waste (New Tank EIS) at the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. The preferred alternative involved construction of up to six enormous high-level radioactive waste storage tanks, with a total projected price tag of $435 million. The need for additional storage space was considered urgent; project proponents had already decided on the final course of action and were adamant in pushing the project along a particularly aggressive construction schedule, as the project manager was determined to implement this project in record time. The project strategy was straightforward— merely document their decision in the EIS as quickly as possible and then get on with the job of constructing the new tanks!