A federal appeals court has struck down a Washington state initiative aimed at keeping the federal government from shipping any more waste to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Initiative 297 was passed by voters in 2004 to prevent the Department of Energy from dumping more radioactive material and hazardous waste to Hanford until the cleanup of existing contamination is complete.

But in Wednesday’s ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said I-297 conflicts with the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which preempts the initiative.

I-297 had been upheld by the Washington Supreme Court but struck down by a U.S. District Court Judge in Eastern Washington.

The federal government promised in 1989 to finish cleaning up Hanford within 30 years. But recently the state government came close to filing a lawsuit to force quick action, as the project has fallen far behind schedule.

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)