YUCCA WRIT OF MANDAMUS GROUP SEEKS LAWYER FEES

The group that successfully petitioned the court for a writ of mandamus to compel the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to re-start the Yucca Mountain licensing review is seeking lawyer fees from the NRC, according to a motion filed this week. The petitioners, made up of Aiken County, S.C., State of South Carolina, State of Washington, and Nye County, Nev., argued that by failing to follow the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the NRC caused the group to accrue legal fees. “Petitioners were forced to undertake otherwise unnecessary litigation due to the recalcitrance of Respondents to perform a clear statutory duty,” the motion said. “Petitioners prevailed in the litigation, and request an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412.” The amount in total for each party’s lawyer fees and expenses being sought in the motion would equal $313,449.89.