Judge puts nuclear-waste initiative on hold

YAKIMA – A federal judge on Thursday granted a court order that prevents a state initiative – dealing with cleanup at the Hanford nuclear site – 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 Thursday.

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 nuclear 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 onsite cleanup activities at Hanford if the initiative immediately became law, U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald wrote in his ruling.

U.S. 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 has argued.

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.

Some cleanup was halted Thursday at the Hanford site as a result of the initiative, Cynthia Morris, a Justice Department lawyer, said earlier in the day.

How many workers were idled and which projects were halted remained unclear.

The judge said it is in the public interest to “continue current onsite clean-up activities at Hanford,” unimpeded by the initiative.

A spokesman for the Energy Department said the agency was pleased with the decision but recognized the order is temporary.

“We remain dedicated to achieving the cleanup of Hanford, and this decision will allow our employees and contractors to continue working without fear of civil and criminal liability,” spokesman Joe Davis said.

At issue in the case are the federal government’s plans for disposing of waste from nuclear weapons production nationwide. The Energy Department chose Hanford to dispose of some mildly radioactive waste and mixed low-level waste, which is laced with chemicals.

The site also would serve as a packaging center for some transuranic waste before it is shipped elsewhere for long-term disposal. Transuranic waste is highly radioactive and can take thousands of years to decay to safe levels.

In 2003, Washington state filed suit to block transuranic waste from entering the state, fearing Hanford would become a radioactive waste dump. The Energy Department voluntarily suspended the shipments of transuranic and mixed waste after the lawsuit was filed, but the case remains in federal court.

While those shipments remain on hold, I-297 also places other restrictions on cleanup at the site.

In requesting the stay, federal officials said they only wanted to continue cleanup under existing regulations until the court rules on their claims regarding the initiative.

A hearing to discuss a preliminary injunction was set for Dec. 13.