nuclear-news

Appeals Court hearing of call to block license for Georgia nuclear power plants

Southern Nuclear Power Plant Foes Ask Court to Block License Bloomberg, By Andrew Harris, Brian Wingfield and Tom Schoenberg – Apr 18, 2012 Southern Co. (SO)’s license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. to build two nuclear power plants in Georgia should be blocked, opponents of the project said in a U.S. appeals court filing.

The NRC rejected a request by nine environmental groups that it halt construction at the two facilities on April 16, setting the stage for today’s filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The agency approved the license on Feb. 9 by a 4-1 vote

“Issuance of a stay is in the public interest,” the groups said in their filing today, arguing that that NRC failed to fully consider lessons learned from Japan’s Fukushima Dai- Ichi power plant disaster caused by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

“A majority of the commissioners conceded that ‘the Fukushima events were significant, warranting enhancements in safety measures,’” the environmental groups said. The commissioners made no commitment to implement recommendations made by a task forcethey appointed to study the accident in Japan, the groups said…..

Southern plans to build the reactors at Vogtle, about 26 miles (42 kilometers) from Augusta, Georgia. The environmental groups asked the appeals court to reject the licenses in a petition filed with that court on March 20.

The case is Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 12-1151, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Washington). http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-18/southern-nuclear-power-plant-foes-ask-court-to-block-license-1-.html

April 19, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA