The group that filed an appeal for a writ of mandamus compelling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete the licensing review for Yucca Mountain filed a response to the state of Nevada’s appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday for a re-hearing en banc on the court’s decision to issue a writ of mandamus. The group, consisting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Nye County, Nev.; the states of South Carolina and Washington; and Aiken County, S.C., cited the “consistency of the court’s decision” as well as the “court’s sound reasoning” as reasons that the en banc motion should be denied. “The Opinion is specific: In addition to the flagrant nature of the violations, it was based on the facts that the NRC has the resources and ability to move forward and that, contrary to the NRC’s hope, Congress did not change the law or appropriations circumstances to relieve the NRC from having to move forward,” the response said. “Indeed, the Opinion’s careful and measured approach will reduce the instances of mandamus petitions.”
Nevada filed a petition for an en banc hearing on Sept. 30. In the petition, Nevada argued that the NRC did not have enough money to complete the review and that a writ of mandamus was an extreme measure. A three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted 2-1 to issue a writ of mandamus on Aug. 13 compelling the Commission to finish the licensing review. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act requires a decision by the NRC on the Yucca Mountain license application within three years of its submission, a deadline that passed in 2011. Meanwhile, the NRC shut down its repository licensing process in 2010, citing several justifications such as lack of funds to complete the licensing.
