COURT DENIES NEVADA APPEAL OF YUCCA DECISION

A federal court yesterday denied an appeal for a re-hearing en banc for the court’s Aug. 13 decision to issue a writ of mandamus that compelled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete the licensing review for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The appeal, filed by the state of Nevada, asked for the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to hear the case before all the judges on the panel, but none of the nine judges who looked at the appeal asked for a vote, resulting in its denial.  “Upon consideration of intervener’s petition for rehearing en banc, the response thereto, and the absence of a request by any member of the court for a vote, it is ordered that the petition be denied,” the court order said. The NRC did not choose to appeal the court’s decision, and it is currently moving forward with limited funds to follow the court’s order to complete the review.