The following editorial appeared Thursday in the Tri-City Herald.

The Legislature usually shies away from tinkering with citizen initiatives, especially in their first two years on the books.

There is the practical consideration of having to drum up bipartisan support since early amendments to initiatives require a 66 percent vote of approval. But more important in many lawmakers’ minds are the political implications of thwarting the voters’ will.

On both accounts, state Sen. Jerome Delvin’s proposal to clarify the intent of Initiative 297 – the measure approved by voters in November that prohibits Hanford from accepting most new shipments of radioactive material – should be in the clear.

Delvin proposes inserting language into the initiative to exempt from its reach hazardous substances or radioactive materials necessary for medical research, medical treatment or manufacturing and industrial processes. That language would prevent the initiative, which backers said was intended only to keep nuclear waste shipments from being sent to Hanford until waste already there is cleaned up, from getting in the way of critical research that no one in their right mind would oppose. …

Heart of America Northwest, which wrote I-297, has claimed that the federal government’s interpretation of the initiative is purposefully broad for political reasons. …

The common ground between the conservative Delvin and the Seattle-based environmental group is surely narrow, but both ought to exploit it to advance a common cause – limiting I-297 to its original intent. Such cooperation could prove vital. The federal government claims the initiative not only handcuffs its cleanup program, but also would halt some scientific work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. That interpretation puts in jeopardy advances in cancer research, nuclear nonproliferation and conversion of agricultural waste into fuel. It also imperils the future of the Tri-City economy, which relies heavily on the growth of scientific research and development as a replacement for Hanford cleanup jobs.

The threat is real and immediate. Just this week, IsoRay Medical – a Richland company that depends on the national lab for radioactive seeds to treat prostate cancer – was in Idaho scouting for possible new locations because of I-297’s potential to bar operations in Washington.

The issue is in limbo right now since the Department of Energy and the state agreed to take no action on the initiative until spring. But the state needs a permanent fix to provide companies like IsoRay assurances that they have a future in this state. …