Justice Department Seeks To Overturn Initiative 297

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Bush administration shows what it thinks about states' rights once again.

YAKIMA - The federal government plans to ask a judge to overturn a Washington state initiative that bars the U.S. Department of Energy from sending more nuclear waste to the Hanford nuclear reservation.

This fall, Washington state voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 297, which blocks the Energy Department from sending more waste to south-central Washington's Hanford site until all the existing waste there is cleaned up. The measure is scheduled to take effect Dec. 2.

The U.S. Justice Department planned to seek a temporary restraining order on Wednesday in federal court in Yakima to keep the initiative from becoming law, The Associated Press learned from a government official familiar with the case.

The government also planned to challenge the constitutionality of the initiative on the grounds that it violates federal laws governing nuclear waste and interstate commerce, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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