Washington state and federal officials have agreed that the Hanford cleanup initiative voters passed in November will not be enforced until at least spring.

However, the shipment of most nuclear wastes to Hanford will continue to be on hold. It's the one provision of Initiative 297 that would be enforced.

On Tuesday, state and federal attorneys jointly submitted a proposal to federal Judge Alan McDonald, asking to extend a hold on the Hanford cleanup initiative. A temporary restraining order the judge had imposed was to expire next Monday.

If McDonald agrees, the state and federal governments instead will present arguments to the judge in mid-April on whether I-297 violates the U.S. Constitution. The initiative would not take effect until the judge rules after that hearing or May 13, whichever is sooner.

"This agreement will protect the federal employees and their contractors, allow cleanup to continue and give the court a full opportunity to address the important issues advanced in this case," said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, in a prepared statement Tuesday evening.

The state agreed to extend the delay on implementing the initiative to give both sides time to raise and argue issues in a deliberative manner, rather than being pushed by the Monday deadline, said Joe Shorin, an assistant state attorney general.

"This agreement also protects the state's interest by ensuring that the federal Department of Energy will not resume waste shipments throughout this period," said Sheryl Hutchison, spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Ecology, in a prepared statement.

Last Thursday, McDonald granted a 10-day temporary restraining order requested by the federal government, finding it had raised serious issues about validity of the initiative.

However, the Department of Energy still was barred by the judge from bringing radioactive waste to Hanford. That provision would continue under the proposal made to the judge Tuesday.

A lawsuit filed by the state before the initiative passed had already largely stopped DOE from sending waste to Hanford, at least while the case moves through the court system.

I-297, which was passed by voters in every county of the state except Benton and Franklin, would stop DOE from bringing more waste to Hanford until waste already there is cleaned up. Hanford is massively contaminated with radioactive waste from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.

But DOE has argued the initiative would have unintended consequences - such as expanding the definition of what is radioactive waste to include nuclear materials that are used at DOE's national laboratory in Richland for medical and homeland security research.

DOE also believes the initiative would restrict transportation of waste from one facility to another at Hanford, effectively stopping cleanup work. DOE was preparing to stop cleanup activities when the judge granted the temporary restraining order Monday, the day the initiative was to take effect.

Federal officials argued the initiative allows any citizens of the state to sue the government, contractors or individual workers if they believe the initiative's regulations are not being followed, making continuing cleanup work a legal risk.

The federal government believes the initiative is unconstitutional because it limits commerce among states and gives the state authority over federal matters.

State attorneys have said they will vigorously defend the initiative, and that the federal government has misinterpreted the new law.

The state had planned no formal action on the initiative until the first deadline listed in it, which falls at the end of January. But when the judge suggested last week that the state voluntarily hold off on enforcing the initiative until that deadline, the state declined.

At that time the state still had hoped McDonald would not issue broad restrictions on implementation of the initiative.

Now the state is evaluating whether it may make plans for future implementation of the initiative or must wait on all preparations if the judge signs off on the agreement.

In other action on the initiative, the Budget and Contracts Committee of the Hanford Advisory Board met Tuesday in Richland to begin considering its impacts.

Provisions in the initiative were designed to make more information about cleanup costs available to the public and ensure that budgets are adequate, said Gerald Pollet, chairman of the committee. He's also the executive director of Heart of America Northwest, the primary sponsor of the initiative.

DOE will be required to disclose the annual costs of specific projects or actions rather than lump sums in appropriation accounts, he said. DOE also would be required to disclose the budget or budget request for the current year and the upcoming three years, he said.

The state Department of Ecology would be required to ask the site advisory board for advice on the budget and spending priorities, Pollet said. He believes the existing Hanford Advisory Board meets requirements for the advisory board required by the initiative.

But the initiative makes clear that DOE cannot dissolve the board or say what members represented agencies, such as public interest groups, may appoint to it, Pollet said.