Council endorses state initiative to curb N-waste

Spokane City Council members, by a 4-3 vote, adopted a resolution on Tuesday endorsing a statewide initiative to curb nuclear waste dumping at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Initiative 297, which is on the state ballot in November, would require that contaminated sites such as Hanford be cleaned up before more waste can be added.

The initiative seeks to short-circuit a plan by the U.S. Department of Energy to ship nearly 24,000 truckloads of radioactive waste to Hanford, according to the initiative’s proponents.

They sought an endorsement from the City Council to call attention to the measure because nuclear waste shipments would travel through downtown Spokane on the way to Hanford.

“There are some issues on this council that are no-brainers. This is one of them,” said Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers.

She was joined by council members Bob Apple, Joe Shogan and Mary Verner in approving the resolution.

Shogan pointed out that Interstate 90 runs just feet from Lewis and Clark High School and Deaconess Medical Center.

Council President Dennis Hession and council members Brad Stark and Al French voted no.

Hession said he didn’t want the council to be placed in the position of recommending a long and detailed piece of legislation such as I-297.

Stark said he didn’t think the council should be telling voters how to decide an initiative.

French said council rules forbid consideration of issues that are not directly linked to municipal business or local affairs.

“This is the wrong forum for this,” he said.

Apple, who proposed the resolution, said, “This is the No. 1 issue that faces us and our future.”

Gerald Pollet, executive director for Heart of America Northwest, said there is a precedent in Spokane for the City Council to endorse the measure. He said that in 1986 the Spokane City Council endorsed Referendum 40, which opposed using Hanford as a high-level radioactive waste depository. Heart of America Northwest is one of the sponsoring organizations for I-297.

Pollet said nuclear shipments could be diverted onto local streets, especially during road construction detours.

Proponents of the initiative said a shipping accident in Spokane could have deadly results, and could result in radioactive contamination with lasting effects.

“The consequences are deadly, literally,” said Dr. Lauri Costello, a family physician in Spokane.

“I hear a lot about saving salmon. It’s more about saving people,” said Tim Carson, who lives outside the city limits.

“We need to leave a legacy of stewardship.”

Julian Powers, of Spokane, said, “We know what happened at Chernobyl. There ain’t nobody living there anymore.”