Washington state nuclear waste law unconstitutional, court says

Washington (Platts)--13Jun2006

A federal court judge declared a Washington state law unconstitutional that
prohibits the storage of additional mixed radioactive and hazardous chemical
waste at DOE's Hanford site until existing waste at the site has been cleaned
up, treated, and disposed of. The June 12 summary judgment by US District
Court Judge Alan McDonald said that the state initiative, which was enacted
into law by voters in 2004, recognized Washington voter concerns about the
present and future management of nuclear waste at Hanford, a shuttered nuclear
weapons plant. However, McDonald added that the state law, known as the
Cleanup Priority Act, violates the federal government's sovereign immunity, as
well as the commerce clause of the US Constitution. The summary judgment
indicated that McDonald expects the state will appeal his decision to the US
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.


 

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