The sale of 574 acres atop Badger Mountain closed last week, putting the top of the ridge on the southwestern flank of the Tri- Cities in the hands of Benton County to turn into a preserve. Of the $685,000 purchase price, $485,000 was allocated by the state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council out of the nuclear site restoration money.

On Tuesday, the council agreed to begin negotiating matching grants to environmental projects in Kittitas and Walla Walla counties in moves that could commit as much as $1.7 million more.

The remainder -- about $1.3 million -- would be left for new projects in Benton County.

The money is being made available as part of a 2003 settlement between Energy Northwest, DOE, the state and the Bonneville Power Administration over the required site restoration of Plant Nos. 1 and 4 at Hanford.

Energy Northwest, formerly the Washington Public Power Supply System, never finished the plants and two others west of Olympia as part of its failed nuclear construction campaign in the 1970s and 1980s. The site certificates for the projects required the sites be restored.

Though the Hanford plants have since been plugged up, the two- year-old settlement allows major demolition work to be put off until the 2026 through 2029 time frame. The agreement stipulated that Bonneville, which backed the two defunct Hanford plants, pay the state $3.5 million for various environmental improvement projects. Of that, 51 percent must be spent in Benton County.

With the Badger Mountain sale having closed, the county has suggested eight or nine additional projects and the agency is considering three or four of them.

"Some are better than others," agency Manager Allen Fiksdal said after Tuesday's meeting.

Potential projects include acquiring land in the Amon Creek basin and around the site of the Hanford Reach National Monument Heritage & Visitor Center, both in Richland.

Wyn Birkenthal, Richland Parks and Recreation director, said there's little problem drawing up a list of projects that would soak up the $1.3 million.

But proposals need to be honed. The council expects proponents to be able to demonstrate ample local support for their projects.

"Essentially, we're waiting," Fiksdal said.

Among the criteria for projects adopted by the council Tuesday are requirements that proponents obtain money from other sources.

Another factor will be whether entities, such as state agencies, would be willing to assume responsibility for land that is bought up. Adam Fyall, Benton County's development coordinator, said none of the additional projects that have been suggested would have the county assume ownership as under the Badger Mountain arrangement.

Outside Benton County, the council agreed Tuesday to issue a letter of intent to begin negotiating a grant up to $400,000 for a project to improve fish passage at Hofer Dam on the Touchet River in Walla Walla County. Total project costs could hit $1.5 million.

The council also agreed to issue a second letter of intent to discuss granting up to $1.3 million to acquire land deemed to be critical habitat for big horn sheep, deer, steelhead, elk and sage grouse in Kittitas County.

In all, project proponents hope to acquire some 17,500 acres in and around the site of a proposed wind farm at a total cost of more than $7 million.