RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

August 2006

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Ninth Circuit Finds that Nuclear Regulatory Commission Violated NEPA by Dismissing as ‘Remote and Highly Speculative’ the Possibility of a Terrorist Attack on Nuclear Facility
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, et al. v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

On June 2, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace’s (petitioners) hearing request in part and remanded the case for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to address the environmental impacts of a potential terrorist attack on Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Diablo Canyon Power Plant (Diablo Canyon). The court found that the NRC’s environmental assessment (EA), which was based on its determination that the agency did not need to address these specific impacts, failed to comply with NEPA. The court concluded, however, that the NRC did not violate the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) or the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) when it denied petitioners’ hearing request regarding whether NEPA required an analysis of the environmental consequences of a potential terrorist attack.