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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission faces lawsuit from Vermont

Vermont, nuclear watchdog group file lawsuit against NRC,  SentinelSource.com, State, group file suit against NRC May 25, 2011, By Kyle Jarvis Vermont state officials are asking a federal court to have the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant’s recently renewed operating license temporarily revoked and reviewed by the court, according to court documents filed by state officials last week.

The state and the New England Coalition, a nuclear watchdog group, are suing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in federal court for what they say was a mishandling of the Vermont Yankee renewal process in March. n the lawsuit, Vermont Department of Public Service officials said the commission “acted arbitrarily, abused its discretion, and violated the clear mandate of the Clean Water Act.”State officials argue the commission should not have granted the 20-year license renewal without also requiring a new water quality certification, which they say the Clean Water Act mandates, according to court documents…….. Vermont, nuclear watchdog group file lawsuit against NRC – SentinelSource.com: Local News

May 26, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

A legal win for Namibia’s groundwater against uranium mining

issue is the question of who has the legal standing to go to court to ask for protection for the environment, which is unable to speak for itself…plan to extract large quantities of water from an underground water source in such a dry, environmentally sensitive and hitherto unspoilt area.

Uranium company loses desert water plan appeal, the Namibian, 20 May 11, By: WERNER MENGES  A LEGAL challenge to a Canadian-owned mining company’s plan to use underground water to set up a uranium mine in the Namib Desert south-west of Usakos is heading back to the High Court after an appeal judgement that was given in the Supreme Court yesterday.

An issue that has never before had to be decided by a Namibian court is expected to be at the core Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | Legal, Namibia, water | Leave a comment

Tribunal raps Indian govt over Jaitapur health and safety issues

Jaitapur public tribunal gives govt a rap on the knuckles, May 20, 2011,  By Alok Deshpande  Mumbai  : DNA  As around 20 fisherfolk, men and women from Sakhri Nate village, situated around the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) site appeared before a People’s Tribunal for the second day to blow the lid off police atrocities, the government’s nuclear agencies were for the first time ever, forced to submit their depositions to the panel of two retired high court judges. Justice AP Shah, however, reacted sharply, calling it a “half-hearted attempt” from the government to answer people’s grievances over the JNPP.

“The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has submitted its deposition to the tribunal, which has no answer to the questions raised by the people. Even Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has sent large number of documents, but strangely no-one is appearing, in person, before the people’s court and is not ready to face cross-examination,” said Shah.

He added that the documents are related to radiation, health and safety and seemed to be regular brochures. “I have asked the experts to study them and tell us what was not mentioned in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report,” said Shah. The judges have however, noted that this is the first time that a full-fledged discussion over nuclear energy is taking place in a free environment, which is a good sign…..Jaitapur public tribunal gives govt a rap on the knuckles – Mumbai – DNA

May 21, 2011 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Japan: collusion of govt, nuclear regulators, plant operators, courts

The lawsuits reveal a disturbing pattern in which operators underestimated or hid seismic dangers to avoid costly upgrades and keep operating. And the fact that virtually all these suits were unsuccessful reinforces the widespread belief in Japan that a culture of collusion supporting nuclear power, including the government, nuclear regulators and plant operators, extends to the courts as well.

Japanese Officials Ignored or Concealed Dangers, New York Times, By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER,  May 16, 2011  OMAEZAKI, Japan — The nuclear power plant, lawyers argued, could not withstand the kind of major earthquake that new seismic research now suggested was likely.

If such a quake struck, electrical power could fail, along with backup generators, crippling the cooling system, the lawyers predicted. The reactors would then suffer a meltdown and start spewing radiation into the air and sea. Tens of thousands in the area would be forced to flee.

Although the predictions sound eerily like the sequence of events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the lawsuit was filed nearly a decade ago to shut down another plant, long considered the most dangerous in Japan — the Hamaoka station. Continue reading →

May 17, 2011 Posted by | Japan, Legal, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Supreme Court upholds State’s rights over water intake at nuclear plant

SJC upholds state’s right to regulate water intake at Pilgrim nuclear –  Boston Globe , by Beth Daley, 12 April 11, The state Supreme Judicial Court has upheld Massachusetts’ right to regulate the intake of vast amounts of water by the Pilgrim Nuclear Station and other power plants, which can harm fish and other marine organisms.Power plants use the water to cool equipment then discharge it later — and hotter — into waterways. Environmental studies show the heated water can harm aquatic life. The state and environmentalists have also long argued that the sucking in of water can kill vast amounts of fish larvae, eggs, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms – larger creatures become trapped on screens covering the intake pipes, and smaller ones are sucked into the cooling system. Continue reading →

April 12, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA, water | Leave a comment

Huge civil damages claims looming from Fukushima disaster

“If the government nationalises TEPCO then they take on TEPCO’s debts, and if TEPCO remains private it will probably need government support for its obligations to pay damages, so whichever way you look at it the government will be taking on responsibility

Japan nuclear crisis to trigger huge civil damages claims | Reuters, Mon Apr 4, 2011 * TEPCO and government to handle claims* Hundreds of thousands of claims expected* Claims could top $130 bln in worst case – BofA-ML* Government likely to set up central compensation fund By Rachel Armstrong – Japan’s nuclear crisis is likely to lead to one of the country’s largest and most complex ever set of claims for civil damages, handing a huge bill to the fiscally strained government and debt-laden plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co . Continue reading →

April 5, 2011 Posted by | Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

Ontario Power Generation’s flawed statement on nuclear power

the province has never completed an integrated power system plan that would establish the need for new generators…… The environmental impact statement submitted by OPG also fails to consider alternatives to a major nuclear project,

Law association argues nuclear approval process flawed – thestar.com, 4 April 11, John Spears Ontario Power Generation has failed to consider alternatives to building new nuclear reactors at Darlington, the Canadian Environmental Law Association argued Monday.That means it hasn’t submitted an adequate environmental impact statement under federal law, the association told a panel reviewing the proposal for new reactors.And that in turn means the panel isn’t in a position to recommend giving the go-ahead for OPG to proceed with preparing the site for construction, Continue reading →

April 5, 2011 Posted by | Canada, Legal | Leave a comment

U.S. Energy Dept sued over failure to provide nuclear waste dump

it could be several years before a repository is constructed and the federal government can begin accepting waste from nuclear power plants. Until then, the association wants to halt the nuclear waste fund fees that the Energy Department collects for that purpose…….

Utility Commissioners Sue To Suspend Annual Nuclear Waste Fees By Tennille Tracy  NEWSWIRES,WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones) 8 march 11,  A group representing state utility commissioners sued the U.S. Energy Department Monday to try to prevent it from collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in fees to build a nuclear waste dump. Continue reading →

March 7, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Lawsuits express no confidence in nuclear “Waste Confidence Rule”

For many, the separate suits by state attorneys general and environmental groups raise fresh questions over why America is pouring billions into a nuclear renaissance with no long-term strategy for handling waste from the nation’s existing facilities. ….The lawsuit targets NRC’s recently updated “Waste Confidence Rule.”


As U.S. Moves Ahead with Nuclear Power, No Solution for Radioactive Waste, Solve Climate News, By Abby LubyMar 3, 2011 A pair of legal actions against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission raises fresh questions over how and where to store the nation’s growing nuclear waste, Continue reading →

March 4, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

A spate of legal challenges to nuclear waste storage rules

address the question of whether there are more cost-effective energy alternatives that would avoid saddling future generations with the costs and risks of disposing of highly radioactive waste generated by nuclear reactors,”

Environmental groups fight nuclear storage rules – SmartPlanet,  David Worthington 25 Feb 2011, A coalition of environmental groups has let loose a spate of legal challenges against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) 2010 findings that spent reactor fuel and highly radioactive nuclear waste can be safety tucked away for the long term. Continue reading →

March 1, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | 1 Comment

UK Nuclear veterans dying as they await legal procedings

“Claimants are dying at a rate of three each month, so the sooner the government stops wasting time and money on procedural issues and allows a judge to finally decide the matter, the happier the claimants will be.”

Veterans want court fight after exposure to nuclear radiation Bournemouth Echo,  27th February 2011 By Fiona Pendlebury » VETERANS fighting to be allowed to sue the government after being exposed to nuclear radiation in the 1950s and 1960s are awaiting a key ruling from the Supreme Court. Continue reading →

March 1, 2011 Posted by | Legal, UK | 1 Comment

Natural Resources Council challenges NRC’s WASTE CONFIDENCE RULE

In absurdist fashion, the new Waste Confidence Rule contains a “predictive” safety “finding” that simply stipulates spent reactor fuel can be disposed of safely at some unspecified time in the future, whenever it becomes “necessary” to dispose of it. The Rule also concludes that for at least sixty years after the cessation of reactor operations, spent fuel can be safely stored at reactor sites or in “special” facilities.

Sixty Thousand Tons of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Stored at U.S. Reactors for 60 Years? Natural Resources Defence Council, Matthew McKinzie  February 23, 2011 Why NRDC has Challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Waste Confidence Rule Last week my colleague and NRDC Senior Attorney Geoffrey Fettus filed a legal challenge to two final rulemakings by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission: the “Waste Confidence Decision Update” and the “Consideration of Environmental Impacts of Temporary Storage of Spent Fuel After Cessation of Reactor Operation.” What does the Federal Government want to do with these new Rules, and why is NRDC opposing them?…….. Continue reading →

February 24, 2011 Posted by | Legal, spinbuster, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission being sued by three States

In New York, the lawsuit on Tuesday had another political subtext. The licenses of the Indian Point 2 and 3 reactors in Buchanan are nearing expiration, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo opposes a 20-year extension sought by the plant’s owners.

Policy on Storing Nuclear Waste Is Challenged by States – NYTimes.com, Matthew Wald, 16 Feb 2011, WASHINGTON — The attorneys general of New York, Connecticutand Vermont sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, challenging a new commission policy stating that nuclear waste can be safely stored at a nuclear power plant for 60 years after a reactor goes out of service. Continue reading →

February 16, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Legal case over medical radiation

Richmond man sues over hospital scan Edmonton Journal February 15, 2011 A Richmond man claims he was over-exposed to radiation during a CT scan at Abbotsford Regional Hospital.In a civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Randy Kroeplin says he was placed in the scanner at the hospital on March 19, 2009.He says the scan appeared to stop halfway through the scan and he was left in the scanner for about 25 minutes. The scan commenced again and was finished about four minutes later. “As a result of the CT scan, the plaintiff was exposed to an unnecessary amount of radiation,” says the suit. Richmond man sues over hospital scan

February 16, 2011 Posted by | Canada, Legal | Leave a comment

USA’s mounting mountains of nuclear waste, and of its legal costs

Some companies have won their lawsuits while others have settled with the government.  According to the Justice Department, the government has already paid the companies $960 million. And assuming the government will be able to collect the waste by 2020, the Energy Department estimates the government’s liability could reach $16.2 billion.

Nuclear-Power Firms Push Back Against Fees – WSJ.com, FEBRUARY 11, 2011,   By TENNILLE TRACY “……..Fund fees, paid by utilities or their ratepayers and facilities, are based on a charge of one-tenth of a cent for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated at a nuclear plant. Continue reading →

February 12, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

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