Friends of the Earth v. Granholm

Friends of the Earth (FOTE) voluntarily dismissed its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenge to the U.S. Department of Energy’s award of more than $1 billion to prevent the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant from ceasing operations. FOTE concluded that funds committed by the State of California to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to support operations at the power plant and the terms under which the funds were provided “very likely moot this case and divest the Court of Article III jurisdiction.” FOTE had alleged that the Department of Energy relied on outdated environmental analysis and failed to consider impacts, including the impacts of climate change on the power plant’s systems and equipment. Though it acknowledged that the case was moot, FOTE offered several “critical observations,” including that PG&E and California had been able to unilaterally moot the case using “contractual loopholes,” thus evading NEPA scrutiny. FOTE questioned whether the Department of Energy would comply with NEPA in connection with future subsidies through the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program and also questioned the effectiveness and utility of the CNC Program.