US suing to block state from banning A-waste
| Spokane, Wash.
The federal government is suing the State of Washington in an attempt to overturn a voter-initiated law that would keep most out-of-state radioactive waste from being stored within its borders. Justice Department attorneys have asked for an injunction to block the law. The suit charged the state law violates the Constitution by impermissibly regulating federal activities and interferes with national defense activities and the regulation of radioactive waste reserved for Congress.
Under the current measure, no nonmedical radioactive waste may be brought to Washington from out of state after July 1 unless the state enters into a regional "treaty" with other Northwest states to govern the shipping and dispos al of the material.
