Hanford court ruling involves prime races

When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Initiative 297, which blocks continued nuclear waste from being disposed at Hanford Nuclear Reservation, was unconstitutional, it affected more than just advocates of the Hanford situation. Because of the parties involved, the decision may have an impact on some of the state's political races, as well.

One such campaign is for the 46th Legislative District seat being vacated by Rep. Jim McIntire. There Scott White is running against newly minted party nominee Gerry Pollet, who was one of the organizers of the I-297 ballot initiative back in 2004. While Pollet the candidate has not said anything about the decision, Pollet the advocate has.

"I was the chief sponsor of I-297 and organized the petition drive and the campaign and have been deeply involved in the defense," Pollet told PolitickerWA.com. "Our prime message is that Hanford is not going to be used as a national waste dump. We may ask for a rehearing in front of the court because of very odd inconsistency in the opinion."

That inconsistency, Pollet said, had to do with the court's opinion on the state's right to regulate waste within its borders. Pollet also said that a lower court ruling said the initiative would be constitutional if laws were passed in the state House to regulate Federal waste disposal.

"Hanford lobbyists spent a lot of money and killed that this year," Pollet claimed. "Unforunately we did not have the champions in the state legislature to move it in the face of that."

He continued to suggest that it was imperative for the state legislature to adopt the core principles of I-297 into a hazardous waste law in the next session, "before the trucks start rolling to Hanford."

Similarly, in the Spokesman-Review article on the decision, co-sponsor and former Rep. Toby Nixon said he is urging Attorney General Rob McKenna to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. McKenna, meanwhile, is involved in a re-election race against Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg.

Meanwhile Governor Chris Gregoire, who is seeking re-election against Republican Dino Rossi, released the following statement from her official office, not her campaign:

"I am disappointed in the court's decision invalidating Initiative 297, which barred the import of radioactive and hazardous waste to the Hanford site. The initiative was supported by nearly 70 percent of the voters, and we fought hard to defend it in the face of a constitutional challenge brought by the federal government. The decision doesn't limit our ability to require cleanup at Hanford under other existing laws and the Tri-Party Agreement. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that Hanford is cleaned up in a manner that protects our citizens and the Columbia River."

The Tri-City Herald's Chris Mulick points out that Gregoire's words are telling since she did not release a statement when the ruling was first handed down in 2006.

"So what does it all mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe something," Mulick continues. "But if you're in the business of parsing politicians' carefully chosen words you find it interesting."