Hanford initiative put on hold
Measure that passed last month could harm cleanup, judge rules
YAKIMA -- A federal judge yesterday granted a court order that prevents a state initiative -- dealing with cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from taking effect.
Earlier in the day, federal government lawyers argued in a telephone conference call that there were too many uncertainties about how the state would interpret the new initiative.
Attorneys for the state argued the temporary restraining order was unnecessary and gave assurances that state officials were still reviewing the initiative and would not begin to implement it in the next 60 days. It had been scheduled to take effect yesterday.
Washington's voters last month overwhelmingly approved Initiative 297, which would bar the U.S. Department of Energy from sending more radioactive waste to south-central Washington's Hanford site until all existing waste there is cleaned up.
There is a probability the federal government will succeed in establishing that the initiative is invalid, and a possibility the federal government would suffer irreparable injury with regard to on-site cleanup activities if the initiative immediately became law, U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald wrote in his ruling.
In court documents, the federal government argued that some cleanup projects at the site would come to a halt because they lack permits not required under current law, but that may be required under the initiative.
Justice Department lawyers ultimately hope to invalidate the initiative on grounds that it violates federal laws governing interstate commerce and nuclear waste. Hanford, a federal site, is immune from state regulation, the government argues.
For now, I-297 will not be applied or enforced with respect to activities at the nuclear reservation "except to the extent that it prohibits the import of mixed waste to Hanford," McDonald said.
Shipments of mixed waste -- slightly radioactive waste laced with dangerous chemicals -- have already been halted as the result of another lawsuit.
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
Hanford initiative put on hold
