For eight years, Democrats in Washington state have criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup. They’ve ripped the funding shortfalls. They’ve lambasted the lack of urgency. They’ve excoriated the U.S. Department of Energy for missed deadlines and general mismanagement.

Now what? Will they simply change the target of their ire or will they actually make progress?

During a campaign stop in May, an Oregon woman asked Barack Obama about the issue. His answer wasn’t encouraging.

He admitted he wasn’t familiar with the Hanford site, but he promised to “learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport.”

Later, a campaign spokesman said: “Sen. Obama will reverse the Bush administration’s budget cuts and ensure that the Hanford cleanup effort receives enough resources and support to protect area residents and businesses.”

We will soon see.

In the meantime, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell better make sure he’s up to speed. The same goes for Washington’s U.S. representatives. The state didn’t fare too well with Clinton administration energy secretaries, so let’s hope Obama selects someone committed to his campaign vow and the promises of the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement.

As this bumbling effort at Hanford enters its 20th year, the news on the ground – and under it – isn’t encouraging. Federal officials are asking for another extension on a deadline to clean up the central portions of the reservation. On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Energy sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Ecology requesting the delay, the Tri-City Herald reported.

The agency’s excuse is that it has been concentrating on the toxic waste that threatens the Columbia River. That’s a worthy priority, but if the cleanup weren’t so badly mismanaged the river wouldn’t be in jeopardy in the first place.

Though $1.4 billion was requested, the 2009 federal budget allots $983 million for the cleanup. Last week, Sen. Murray complained, “Year after year, this administration introduced budgets that failed to live up to the critical milestones set forth by the Tri-Party Agreement, and it’s now clear that they will leave office with significant work left undone.”

Well, now the requests will come from an administration she supports, and the budget will be written by a Congress her party increasingly controls. The blame game is over. Time for results.